Time to have your say on water charging options

NPDC wants residents’ feedback on options for water-charging that will see households paying for the water they actually use.

Consultation on the options opens today (MONDAY) and runs until 20 June, with the Mayor and Councillors having selected them for consultation in May so that mock billing can start in July next year.

The three options are:

• A fixed charge plus a volumetric charge based on how much water is used by the household.
• A fixed charge, plus a volumetric charge when households use more than the 100 litre allocation of water each day. (All water above the allocation would be charged at the volumetric charge.)  
• Fully volumetric charging based upon the amount of water used, with no fixed charge.

“There are a lot of elements to this consultation, such as how we look after vulnerable households and properties with shared meters, so we’d really like to get your thoughts on each of the issues,” says NPDC Executive Director CE Office Kathryn Scown.

“Your feedback will help us make decisions that best suit our community.”

Currently, households connected to the public water supply pay a fixed charge of $547 per year, regardless of how much water is used.

This fixed charge will be replaced in 2027 with a new charging system based upon how much water a household actually uses. This will encourage water conservation, support vulnerable households and ensure we cover the cost of providing the service.

Before this begins, households will have a year of mock billing to identify and fix any leaks and track their household’s water use.

The consultation includes charging options for properties with shared meters, how leaks and repairs on private property are handled, how NPDC can support more vulnerable households, and potential policy amendments in the future.

To read the consultation document and supporting information and to have your say, go to npdc.govt.nz/HaveYourSay. Feedback closes at 5pm on Friday 20 June.

Fast facts

• In December 2020, as part of the Long-Term Plan 2021-31, the Council resolved to install water meters with a shift to volumetric billing (paying for how much water a household actually uses), with 12 months of mock billing before volumetric charging begins. 
• By the end of April 2025, NPDC had installed more than 23,200 water meters at residential properties – 82 per cent of the planned total installations.
• So far, 180 leaks on private properties have been fixed after being identified by water meters. This has saved 1.75 million litres of water per day (four per cent of the district’s average use).
• NPDC’s four water schemes supply just under 28,000 homes and businesses.
• New Plymouth District’s water consumption is 1.5 to 2 times higher than in comparable communities, averaging 690 litres per household connection per day (about 300 litres per person per day).