frequently asked questions

Universal Drinking Water Meters – FAQs

Thanks to the breadth of questions on Facebook, we have prepared this frequently asked questions document to clear up some of the misconceptions.

Do some water supplies in the district already have universal drinking water meters?

Yes, some people have meters already – for example, those in Mayfield and Mt Somers had meters installed so we could find leaks - this is what we want to extend out across the district.

Why are Residential D and Rural A zoned properties paying extra for water use over 1200L? Why is this not the case in town?

Residential D and Rural A properties connected to a Council water supply are generally larger properties on the periphery of towns. They are connected to Council water supplies, however, given the larger property sizes, Council believes it is highly likely that their water consumption is greater than the average Residential A, B or C zoned properties within town. Often this is because of larger gardens, paddocks and/or the keeping of stock.

Last year Council increased the daily allocation of water per Residential D or Rural A properties to 1,200 litres per day, any use above this is charged. But as it is charged per year, you can use more in summer and less in winter without being charged if it balances out.

Do we actually need water meters?

We believe that the installation of universal drinking water meters is the best way to get on top of the estimated water loss.

What is the real intention with water meters? Council states that you don’t ‘PLAN’ to charge, but that implies that you might do in the future.

This term of Council (as in the Mayor and councillors) has made it explicitly clear that they will not introduce charges for ordinary water users (residential A, B or C properties) connected to a Council water supply. A future Council may decide to, but this couldn’t happen without consultation with the community – just like we’re asking you now whether we should put the meters on.

Why is Council assuming that the leaks are all on private property, how do you plan to find leaks in the mains?

Council is not assuming that all leaks are on private property. However, by understanding the typical consumption of properties connected to our supplies, we will soon be able to work out if the leaks are on private property or on our network supplying water. We already have meters on key parts of our watermain network and undertake regular acoustic monitoring of water use – the installation of universal drinking water meters will complement what we already do.

Why is Council not focusing on metering older houses? They are more likely to have leaks.

We propose to install meters on all homes connected to our water supplies, regardless of their age.

Water meters only last 5 years. Will we be paying $5million every 5 years?

No, water meters have an average life of 10 years. They will be replaced on a cyclic renewal basis.