The first of 500 water meters have begun to be installed across Queenstown Lakes District as part of a project to better understand water use across the District.

The installations began last week, and will be completed by June.

General Manager, Infrastructure, Peter Hansby said that in most cases the water meters would be installed outside the property boundary with little if any disruption to residents.

Mr Hansby said the project was not necessarily a precursor to District-wide water charges based on volumetric use.

“We are a long way from concluding that volumetric water charging is the most effective tool to manage water demand and reduce the future cost of water and wastewater network.”

He said that the project would enable QLDC to assess:

a) the range of costs of installing meters across different schemes in the District;
b) the technical issues associated with meter installations;
c) the potential reduction in water usage as a result of metering;
d) the water leakage that is currently occurring on private property; and
e) the relative costs and benefits of metering.

Properties were selected at random for the one-year trial. They include apartments, lifestyle blocks, businesses and homes in all of the areas serviced by a reticulated Council water supply.

QLDC staff will make contact with the property owners during the trial to gather information about occupancy and other factors which impact on water usage. This information will help the Council refine the way it calculates future water demand.

The trial is in addition to the water metering already undertaken in Luggate and most of Lake Hayes, where properties are already connected to water meters, used to assess water use.

ENDS

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