From Monday 17 November, Masterton District Council will begin delivering Water Use Summaries to more than 8000 local house owners whose properties have water meters, greatly increasing the information they have on water use.

Water Use Summaries are not bills and do not require payment, but they show the amount of water passing through meters in the past three months and highlight if a leak could be present, usually indicated by a continuous flow of water.

A total of 8040 summaries are being sent to dwellings with a single meter – with 680 showing the meter has flagged a potential leak. Schools, churches and daycare centres are included.

Summaries are also going to 539 addresses with shared meters – a total of 235 meters. Of these, 53 meters have flagged a potential leak, covering 124 properties.

The Council has deferred charging for water using water meters, allowing time to ensure water-use data is of the highest quality. Group Manager Infrastructure & Assets, Maseina Koneferenisi said Water Use Summaries are a valuable tool in this process.

“The first thing people should do when they get their Water Use Summary is to check the number on the letter matches the number on their water meter. Meters can usually be found under the blue panels on the footpath outside your home,” she said.

“If the meter is showing a flag symbol, that means there is a continuous flow of water through the meter and there is a potential leak. People can also check if they have a leak by turning off all their taps – inside and out – and seeing if the numbers on the meter are still changing. If they are, then it is highly likely there is a leak.

“The summaries will show how much water is being used – and that can be compared to national averages. Water is a valuable resource, and we want to get water usage down, particularly water that is wasted through leaks.”

The Council cannot carry out work on private properties, and a registered plumber may be required to find and fix a leak.

Where two or more addresses share a meter, it is not possible to identify water use for individual properties.

In these cases, a check meter can be installed, showing water usage for an individual property. While the Council will supply the meter, installation work is the responsibility of the property owner, which will be read by Council.

Alternatively, a separate smart meter can be installed, provided by the Council with the property owner arranging any pipework on their property at their own cost. This would give the consumer full control over measuring their water supply.

If a potential leak is flagged, information on the Council website can help track it down. Head to mstn.govt.nz and search ‘water meters’ for more information.

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