MEDIA RELEASE

Water meter installation comes in under budget

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013.

The water meter installation contract is expected to finish on time and up to $300,000 under budget, says Council Chief Executive Pat Dougherty.

“This is excellent news as there are always a number of variables with a project like this so to finish under budget will be a very good outcome. The project leaders should feel very pleased.”

The project budget was $8 million, plus Consumer Price Index adjustments covering two years.

Thomas Plumbing and Gas has the northern installation contract. They are averaging 140 installations a week and are due to finish on time in October.

Downers Ltd has the larger southern contract. They are averaging 186 installations a week and were due to finish in January 2014 but are now expected to finish in December, ahead of schedule.

So far 18,115 water meters have been installed out of an estimated 21,000.

Council’s Infrastructure Group Manager Sean Mallon said although the installation work had gone smoothly, there had been challenges along the way. “Some of the copper connecting pipes had thinned over the years, some of the galvanised pipes had badly corroded and some of the plastic pipes the contractors uncovered had been prone to splitting, so they have had a few challenges.

“One of the really good outcomes has been the number of sizeable leaks uncovered and also the positive reception from property owners. Even the owners of properties sporting no-meter signs have been friendly.”

More than 270 leaks on private properties have been uncovered so far. These have totalled more than 3,260 cubic metres of lost water a day. “That is equal to filling the Ōtaki public pool six and a half times a day or more than one million cubic metres of water a year. That is an awful lot of treated water that can now be saved,” said Mr Mallon.

Currently all residents pay a flat annual fee for treated drinking water, no matter how much they use. This was seen as inherently unfair with some residents using a lot of water while others didn’t. There was also no incentive to save drinking water, which comes at a cost.

From July 1 next year, the payment system will change to a reduced flat fee for water plus a charge for the volume of water used by individual properties. Two trial billing periods are planned before the new charging system begins.

Council expects the water meter-based charging system will lead to a change in the way people use water with a resulting 25% reduction in peak water demand. A further five percent saving is expected from better continuous leak detection as a result of the District-wide application of water meters.

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