Water Meter FAQ
What is a water meter?
What is a water meter bill?
As part of the annual water rates, each property receives an allowance of about one or more cubic metres of water per day (one annual water rate has an allocation of 366 m3/year which equals 366,000 litres) depending on the units purchased. You will only receive charges for the excess water usage volume from the annual water rate allowance.
Where is my water meter?
Your water meter is usually close to the property boundary, near the road. Look for the blue box or round dial in the ground. If you are not able to identify, please contact Council.
Use a flathead screwdriver or similar to flip the lid. Once the lid is open, you will be able to see the meter dial and the gate valve.
How do I read my water meter?
The white numbers on the black background make up the water invoice and these are counted in cubic metres (m3).
The white numbers on the red background, count in litres - these are not included in your water invoice.
The smaller disc in the middle of your water meter spins around whenever water is flowing through the meter. This may be helpful for detecting leaks. If the disc spins when all your property’s taps are off, you may have a leak.
How often are water meters read?
Council’s contractor will read the water meter six-monthly (i.e., January-March and June – August). This will be used for generating the water meter bill.
However we strongly recommend you read the water meter every month as a minimum. This will be useful for understanding the water usage and to identify any leaks.
How do I identify water leaks?
If you believe the water consumption is beyond what is required for your business, there may be a leak in your property. This can be confirmed with the following steps:
- Read and make note of your water meter reading.
- Turn off any water-using appliances in your property and don’t use any water.
- Wait for an hour or two and take another reading.
- If the readings are different and you haven’t used any water, you may have a leak! If that’s the case, call a registered plumber.
Who is responsible for fixing water leaks?
If the leak is on the property (after the meter), it is the owner’s responsibility to fix the leak by contacting a registered plumber.
If the leak is before the meter, no need to panic, you won’t be charged for this water as it hasn’t gone through your meter yet.
We request you to call Council on 0800 801 350 and lodge a request for service to have the leak repaired so we’re not wasting our valuable resource.
Testing of water meters:
If a customer disputes the accuracy of a meter reading, the customer may apply to the Council to have the meter tested at the current test fee rate. If the meter is found to be over-reading, the test fee will be refunded.
Water Remission:
Under Council policy, Council has no obligation to pay for water losses within private properties. It is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain the plumbing and fittings and to pay for any repairs to the internal reticulation serving a private property.
This includes that:
- Customers have a responsibility to ensure the condition of their dwelling does not contribute to a failure of the plumbing system.
- Where a dwelling or property is left vacant for an extended period of time owners/occupants should consider shutting off the water supply and draining all pipes and appliances.
It is reasonable to assist customers with a remission and Council will identify the maximum remission that may apply and the circumstances for which an application will be accepted.
Conditions of Water Remission application:
- The application must be made in writing and signed by the owner(s).
- For properties already connected to a metered Council water supply the application for remission must be made within six months of the invoice date. For newly metered properties the application for remission can be made up to 15 months from the date of connection to the metered Council water supply.
- The ratepayer must supply to Council evidence that the excessive water consumption is a result of a leak at the property.
- The ratepayer must supply satisfactory evidence to Council within three months that;
- A leak has been repaired (plumbers receipt and/or photographs),
- The leak was repaired as soon as possible once it was discovered, or
- The leak was repaired as soon as possible once advised of the excessive water consumption. - Only one remission will be granted in any five-year period per property.
- The maximum remission will be 50% of the cost of the difference between the estimated average consumption and the actual water consumption for that billing period.
- A record of the remission, as evidence of a previous failure in the internal reticulation, will be placed on the Building File of the property.
