Taking Legal Action Against Water Theft: Protecting Customers, Not Revenue

L Nicholson | Watercare Services Limited

Unlike most businesses, money is not Watercare's primary concern when people steal our services. Water meters not only enable us to charge our customers accurately, but they also contain backflow prevention. This means that people who create connections to our network without following the correct process risk contaminating the water supply.

Recently, one company found themselves on the wrong end of our bylaw, a bylaw that was put in place to protect Auckland's drinking supply from contamination and theft. This paper will examine Watercare's first – and first successful – prosecution under the Health Act and Water Supply and Wastewater Network Bylaw. The paper provides a brief overview of our processes and discusses Watercare’s motivation to pursue a legal remedy, what we discovered, the challenges we faced, how we were able to secure a successful outcome and how we set a precedent in determining fines under bylaws.

Correcting the misconception that theft is about money has been challenging for us. While we must also consider asset damage and cost recovery, our conversation with unauthorised users is about changing their attitude towards water. The paper covers the associated conversations Watercare has had with the media, Aucklanders who report theft, the people who are reported, and the social media commentary on our posts about theft.