Water metering - The Tauranga journey

Tauranga City Council (TCC) implemented universal water metering and volumetric charging across the city some 10 years ago. Approximately 39,000 meters were installed which resulted in significant benefits including:

• A 30% reduction in peak demand, which enabled a proposed water scheme to be delayed by at least 10 years. This resulted in substantial deferment of capital expenditure as well as other cost savings.
• Socio-economic benefits were realised by TCC and the community - customers pay for water they use.
• Ongoing demand management initiatives are more efficient and sustainable, in line with Resource management Act (RMA) requirements.

However, this success was accompanied by a number of technical, administrative, logistical and procurement challenges. The meter fleet is now maturing and an initiative is underway to ensure optimal renewal whilst sustaining demand management benefits in the long term.

Whilst the “low-hanging fruit” has been plucked by implementing universal water metering in Tauranga, various supplementary opportunities have been identified to further enhance benefits to TCC and customers which include, investigation into the use of smart metering, consumption profiling and water tariff options.

There is a growing interest in New Zealand around water metering and Tauranga’s experience may be of interest to councils who are considering this option.