Water Meters for Whitianga
- Project typeInfrastructure
- Completion Date30 June 2024
Water meters for Whitianga
Water meters have been installed on almost all properties in Whitianga.
From 1 July 2024, Whitianga property owners will have two water charges instead of the current one.
The set charge that property owners pay for water supply has dropped by almost 50%. In addition, as of 1 July 2024 property owners are being charged for water depending on the volume that they use as measured by their meters.
The set charge for 2023/24 was $803.90. As of 1 July, this dropped to $437.23, as set in the Long Term Plan.
The name of the set charge on rates notices will change from the current ‘Whitianga Water Serviced’ to ‘Whitianga Water Serviced/Metered’. This rate covers maintenance and upkeep of water supply infrastructure and the operation of your local water treatment plant.
Property owners are charged from 1 July 2024 for the amount of water that they actually use, at a rate set in the LTP of $1.62/cubic metre (1,000 litres). If no water at the property is used, there will be no water consumption charge. A separate rates notice for this volumetric charge will be issued to ratepayers twice yearly, around April and November.
Please note, we still have some properties which do not yet have water meters installed.
Due to various site issues, not all properties have had water meters installed. Most of them are sites that are a bit more complex due to unbundling work required. Unbundling means separating the water connections where one connection is shared for multiple properties or persons. Unbundling works normally requires more time due to its complexity. We have submitted a project in the 2024-34 draft Long Term Plan for water metering unbundling and if approved this will be scheduled from 2027/28 to 2030/31.
In the meantime these properties will continue to be charged the full 'water serviced not metered' set charge of $874.47 for the 2024/25 year.
Find out more about water rates
Background
Grant funding we received from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) of $4.8 million was used to install water meters on the Whitianga and Whangamatā water supply systems.
This was endorsed by Council at its last meeting of the year in 2020.
“Water metering has been proven to be a valuable tool for tracking down water loss, and accurately measuring water volumes reaching consumer properties,” says our Council’s Infrastructure Group Manager Mo Imtiaz. "We can make savings through locating major leaks, knowing who our biggest water users are, and working with them to look at ways to better manage and conserve water."
Location
Whitianga, View Map
-36.8350132,175.7007296
Whitianga ,
Water Meters for Whitianga