More information on water metering essential, says Greater Wellington

Greater Wellington Regional Council supports the decision by the Wellington Water Committee to seek further refinement and costs on the case for installing residential water meters to help reduce water consumption throughout the region.

Following consideration of the Economic Case for Providing Residential Water Consumption Information report the committee agreed that Wellington Water Limited should commission a detailed business case on how residential water metering could be used to monitor regional consumption, which is among the highest in the country.

Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter said the introduction of residential water metering is a must if the region is to avoid a bill for multi-million dollar investment in new water sources.

According to a forecast in the Sustainable Water Supply Target and Policy report, the Wellington region will need to find a new water source before 2040 and by 2026 if demand and projected population growth continue at the current rate.

"Demand management is fundamental to maintaining a sustainable supply, and meters make sense.

"By delivering vital information on personal consumption they will put control in the hands of consumers. They will drive changes to behaviour that will reduce consumption, take pressure of the region's ageing water infrastructure and avoid the need to invest millions in dams or other water sources."

Water meters would also play a key role in identifying leaks throughout the pipe distribution system, which accounts for between 6-31 per cent of water consumed, a huge volume of potentially tens of millions of litres per day.

"Data on the location of leaks is essential to cost-effective repair and maintenance within a complex distribution system," says Cr Ponter. "We don't have a good picture of where the leaking is occurring.

"Without metering, we're blind to the scale of the problem, and that can't continue."