Water metering information

This page has information on water metering and reporting requirements.

Useful links

Government regulations for measuring and reporting water takes (MfE website)

MfE pamphlet on regulations for measuring and reporting water takes (860 KB)

New Government regulations

New Government regulations came into effect in November 2010 requiring consented water takes of 5l/s or greater to be measured with an accuracy of ± 5%.

If your water-take consent was granted on or after 10 November 2010, you must already be complying with these regulations.

If your consent was granted before 10 November 2010, the deadline for compliance depends on your consented rate of take:

20 litres per second or more: No later than 10 November 2012
10 litres per second up to 20 litres per second: No later than 10 November 2014
5 litres per second up to 10 litres per second: No later than 10 November 2016

For further information on the new regulations, see the Ministry for the Environment website:
Government Regulations for Measuring and Reporting Water Takes
In partnership with Regional Councils and industry bodies, the Ministry for the Environment and Irrigation New Zealand have developed the Water Measurement and Reporting Industry Accreditation Programme to give permit holders greater certainty about services that comply with the regulations.

More information on the Industry Accreditation program can be found on Irrigation New Zealand’s website

Top

Selecting a meter

Under the Government regulations, all water meters will be checked for accuracy on an ongoing basis and you should take this into consideration when deciding the type of meter you chose to have installed. Generally, the more accurate and reliable the meter, the more expensive it is. Other aspects that should also be considered are maintenance, ease of data collection and longevity.

Consult your installer about which meter is best for you.

Submitting your data

When your meter has been installed, you will need to manually record your water use data and email it to the Council.

The Council is investigating the use of telemetry for this purpose which would automatically record your use for you and transfer it directly into our database. It also has a number of other benefits, such as the ability to monitor soil moisture levels, climate, security etc.

Telemetry potentially will provide a secure, economical and efficient method to access remote data instantly and confidentially, saving time and costs by eliminating manual data collection, and assisting with reporting water use to the Council.

Monitoring of water use is only one function of telemetry and if it is introduced, the Council will encourage users to fully utilise it by also monitoring soil moisture and pump status, volumes and rate. Systems are also able to send text and email alarms.

Top