Renwick and Havelock Water Meter FAQs

You will be charged a fixed water charge for every separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit (SUIP) you have on your property. If the charges on one or more SUIPs are remitted, you will not be charged for metered water until you have used more than 200m³ per connection.

If you have more than one meter servicing your property, the total water from the meters will be calculated.

If you would like more information regarding the installation and functionality please contact the Council.

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If your enquiry is about billing and rating please contact the Council and the customer service representative will transfer you to the relevant staff member.

Yes. You should ensure your solicitor arranges this as part of the sale of your home. If any leaks are evident this information must be disclosed to any potential buyers. For information on how to identify leaks please see “Can I check for leaks myself?”.

During the summer months the water supply in Renwick and Havelock struggles to meet demand. Water meters should prevent the need for future water restrictions in both towns.

User-pays water metering has been shown to reduce water use on average by 25%.

For example, Nelson had a 20% reduction in water use while Tauranga achieved a 30% reduction in peak day demand. Water metering encourages people to be more aware of their water use habits and also prompts people to fix water leaks on their properties.

Water meters will create a fairer user-pays system. Higher water users will pay more for their water and lower water users will pay less. This approach makes the distribution of costs fairer and allows people to have more control over their bill.

Council has calculated these charges to receive the same amount of revenue as previously under the traditional rating system to recover operating costs.

Your water charges are split into two parts

• Quarterly rates invoice
• Separate water use invoice

A fixed water charge of approximately $383 per annum will be included in your quarterly rates invoice

If your household uses more than the allocated 200m3 of water in a year, you will be charged approximately: Renwick $1.28 per additional m3 used. Havelock $2.30 per additional m3 used. You will receive a separate invoice for this use.

No.

Yes. All water rates (fixed water charge and metered usage) can be claimed when applying for a rebate. The water charges from the previous year are used. Rebates will be credited to your property rates account.

The water meters will be read each quarter by Council water meter readers. The water meters installed can be read automatically from a vehicle driven slowly along the street.

It flags after 14 days of seeing continuous flow. It continues to “flag” while there is still a leak (i.e. until it is repaired or the water supply is turned off) and then remains for 28 days after it last saw a leak.

Example 1: The meter flags that it has experienced 14 days of continuous flow on the 1st of July, and then the leak is repaired on the 1st of August, the flag will disappear on the 28th of August – i.e. the 28 days after it last registered the leak. If the leak is not repaired the flag will remain until it registered a zero flow event.

However, if a toby is turned off for a short period of time or the water supply is shutdown, then the meter will not detect constant flow for 14 days.

Example 2: The meter flags that it has experienced 14 days of continuous flow on the 1st of July, and then the water is turned off on the 1st of august but the leak is not repaired, the flag will disappear on the 28th of August – i.e.; the 28 days after it last registered the leak and then reappear 14 days later (on the 11th of September) as the leak still persists.

The flag is for indicative purposes only and does not always indicate a leak - I can also be flagged if the meter has been tampered with for example. A leak is just the most likely reason for a flag to be present.

This is why Council encourage users to actively monitor their water use and take ownership of it by keeping a diary of water meter readings frequently to gauge their normal daily usage and to periodically conduct a leak check as per the document in the “How to Check for Leaks” section. This is the best and most effective way of checking if you have a leak and gauging the size and potential financial impact.

Go to the How to Check for Leaks document

It is the property owner’s responsibility to find and repair leaks on their property. In some circumstances once the leak has been repaired a remission (credit) will be considered.

Go to the Rates Remission - Water Losses form

Go to further information on water meters in Renwick and Havelock

Alternatively contact us on 03 520 7400

Council has contacted each property that shares water with a neighbouring property to discuss their options. If you have further queries regarding shared meters please contact Council.

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You should check for the presence of any leaks. Leaks can be detected by the presence of a leak detection flag on the face of the meter, and by performing a leak check to gauge the size of any leaks found. Information for how to do this can be found in the “Can I check for leaks myself?” section. You need to ask the seller who must disclose any known leaks to potential buyers.