Water usage has dropped by 20 per cent across the district since water meters were installed.
Water use across the Waipā district has dropped by 20 per cent since water meters were installed.
Waipa District Council installed water meters during 2016/17, meaning every residential, commercial and industrial property across the district is now metered. Prior to bills being sent out, all households were sent two mock bills to help them understand how much water was being used. Those mock bills prompted a number of residents to fix leaks in private pipes and take other water saving measures.
The first real bills have now been sent and show that across the district, the average daily water use has dropped by 20 per cent.
Water manager Tony Hale said the introduction of meters had seen people generally become much more aware of water consumption.
“We are not seeing anything different in Waipā to what is has been seen across the rest of the country when water meters are installed. It changes people’s mindset when they see a specific value attached to a service, despite having always paid for that service via rates. This just makes it much more transparent.”
Council was still working with a small number of property owners whose water bills remained unusually high, Tony said. People concerned about high water use could also use council’s free water saving service which involved a household visit to check appliances and advise ways to save water.
Since the free service to help save water was introduced in May this year, council has visited more than 110 properties and installed water saving devices like flow restrictors, tap aerators and toilet flush restrictors. In some cases, leaks in private pipes had been identified. Fixing leaks in private pipes is the responsibility of the property owner.
