Water Metering
A water meter is a device installed on a water connection or pipe to measure the quantity of water flowing through.
Why meters are used
On all of Rotorua Lakes Council's water supplies, bulk meters constantly record the amount of water abstracted (taken from the water sources). The information gathered from these meters:
- Helps us to monitor our supplies
- Helps us to identify any pipework leaks
- Is used to check water pump performance and power efficiency
- Is used to confirm that we are not exceeding the maximum water abstraction levels set by regional councils.
Council's metering policy
Council's policy is to meter all extraordinary (non-domestic) and extra-territorial water connections in the urban, Central Eastern and Ngongotaha supplies. Council has no future plans to meter domestic consumers in the Rotorua urban area.
Rural supply water connections are all metered.
How to read a water meter
- A water meter has a dial similar to a car’s odometer and measures your water use in cubic metres.
- The dial typically contains
black and red numbers:
- The black numbers represent whole cubic metres. This is the number recorded for your quarterly water reading and is billed in your water invoice.
- The red numbers represent fractions of a cubic metre. These numbers are useful to track detailed usage or check for leaks.
- For basic meter readings read the black numbers only, from left to right. For more precise readings, record both the black and red numbers, separated by a decimal point.
Checking for a water leak
If your water bill is higher than usual, consider the following:
- Have you recently increased your water use, like using sprinklers or hoses?
- Are there more people on the property?
- For rental properties: are there new tenants?
Is your water use higher than expected?
If your water use is higher than expected, turn off your taps and check your water meter. Are the numbers on the dial spinning? If so, water is flowing somewhere.
Check the following:
- Dripping taps, both inside and outside.
- Check behind your dishwasher and washing machine for any signs of water.
- Listen for running water inside when no taps, hoses or showers are turned on.
- Check your toilet for leaks by putting a few drops of food colouring in the cistern. If colour ends up in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
- In dry weather look for damp or soft patches in the garden, lawn or driveway.
- For farms: check stock water troughs are working correctly.
- For businesses: check urinals are not running constantly.
Still unsure? Do an overnight leakage test
View an example of an overnight water leakage test - (PDF, 215KB).
- Choose a suitable time - choose a time when your business/household won’t use any water, such as overnight.
- Stop all water use - turn off all taps and ensure no appliances will run during the test (e.g. dishwashers, washing machines, evaporative coolers, automatic gardening watering systems etc). Tip: Make sure toilets and urinals aren’t refilling or running, this can affect the test.
- Read your meter - write down the numbers on your water meter, or take a photo, and record the time.
Help with reading your meter - (PDF, 1.4MB) - Wait - wait at least 4-8 hours without using water. A longer time (i.e. overnight) will help detect smaller leaks.
- Compare readings - After the wait, write down the numbers on your meter again, or take another photo, and record the time.
- Calculate water loss per hour - Subtract the first reading from the second reading to find the amount of water lost during the test. Divide this number by the number of hours that passed to find your water loss per hour.
If you lose more than one litre per hour you should check for dripping taps etc. Losing more than 10 litres per hour is a significant water leak and needs to be investigated.
If you find a leak between the meter and the road, contact Council as soon as possible on 07 348 4199 or fill out the following form.
Water charge remission requests
Council has a policy that allows ratepayers to apply for partial rates relief when an excessive water leak is found and promptly repaired. This water charge remission request can only be made once the leak has been repaired and usage is back to normal.
To ask for your water and excess wastewater (if applicable) bill to be reassessed, fill out the following form.
