Frequently Asked Questions
Updated: 17 May 2012
The following are a number of FAQs relating to water meters and CRAG.
Water meters | Specific household circumstances | Commercial and business premises | Consultation process | CRAG
Why does Council want to introduce water meters?
To keep the costs of supplying water to the Kapiti Coast District as low as possible. The introduction of water meters will lead to a drop in water consumption, thereby reducing the cost of upgrading and maintaining our water supply.
How much water can we save through installing water meters?
By introducing water meters, Council expects peak demand to drop by an estimated 25%. A further 5% can be saved from leak detection. Peak demand is the most water the community will use in any one day of the year. It is this figure that drives investment in infrastructure – the size of pipes, fittings, the treatment plant, pumps, etc.
How much does it cost to bring in water meters? Is it really worth it?
It will cost around $8 million dollars to install water meters. In comparison, by bringing peak demand down by an estimated 25%, Council can delay spending up to $36 million on infrastructure for at least 20 years. This is a significant saving for current Kapiti ratepayers.
Am I paying anything for water at the moment?
You are already paying for water as part of your rates (around $330 annually). This portion of your rates will be removed, and water will be billed separately.
Will the cost of water rise no matter what we do?
The cost of water will rise whether or not we have water meters.
Costs rise as our infrastructure expands to match population and demand. If we build a dam now, the cost of water will rise sharply because of the cost of the dam. If we complete the Waikanae River Recharge scheme without introducing meters, the cost of water will also rise. If, however, we introduce water meters (the Council’s preferred option), then peak water demand will drop substantially resulting in significant savings.
Are meters just another way for Council to generate revenue for other projects?
No. Council will continue to run a ‘closed account’ on water revenue. The money earned from water charges can only ever be spent on the water supply, and revenue from water meters will not exceed expenditure on water supply.
Could water meters be the first step towards privatisation?
Under existing law public water supply cannot be privatised. Council has taken additional steps to ensure that direct control of management and operation of water services is maintained. Any recommendation on ownership, management, or the operation of our water must be supported by 75% of our Councillors. Council MUST hold a referendum. These are very high hurdles for future Councils to cross.
It seems that meters only reduce demand, not increase the supply. Surely we need more water long-term?
Council is pursuing two options to secure a dependable supply of good quality water for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati residents. The first is to expand the Waikanae borefield, so bore water can be used to “recharge” the Waikanae River in times of drought. This builds on public money already invested in the borefield. Under this scheme, the borefield can be expanded in stages when demand increases for more water. This means current ratepayers will only pay for the infrastructure they use.
The second option is to buy land for a dam in the hills behind Nikau Valley. This will provide residents with the option to build a dam in the future when required. The borefield option provides a 50 year solution. The dam option extends this out by a further 50 years.
If we are going to build a dam anyway, why don’t we do it now?
You can’t build a dam a bit at a time to match demand. The full cost of construction (about $33 million) would therefore be borne by current ratepayers.
When will the volume charge by meters begin?
Council will make a final decision on water meters June 28. If Council decides to proceed, the installation of water meters will take approximately 15 months. Council will then run a six month period where you will be billed under the old (current) system, but also receive a draft bill based on the volume of water you have used. This will give you a good idea of what your future water bills will look like. Having a meter will enable you to spot unusual water usage, so it will also give you a chance to repair any leaks inside your boundary.
What happens if I find a leak inside my boundary?
The water supply bylaw requires all property owners to keep their water pipes and fixtures (toilets, appliances, taps, etc) well maintained. You will be given a period of time to repair your leak before you are charged. If you repair it in time, you won’t pay for excessive water use generated by the leak.
How will water charging work – is the entire cost dependent on how much water I use?
The Charging Regime Advisory Group (CRAG) recommends that 50% of the total cost of water supply is covered by a fixed line charge, and the other 50% by how much water you use. Council is currently consulting with the public on the merits of this tariff structure.
What does this mean in practice – what will I have to pay?
A chart outlining estimated costs for different sized households, with different sized gardens, has been published in newspapers and is available on the council website. Generally speaking, smaller households with little or no garden will be paying less for water than they would without meters, while larger households or heavy users of water and those with large gardens could be paying more.
Doesn’t this disadvantage larger families?
CRAG believes that this tariff structure is the most fair and equitable of all those looked at. CRAG says the proposed Council Rates Remission - Financial Hardship Policy in the draft 2012 Long Term Plan can help address affordability issues for large households.
How can this help?
Council will make available a rates’ rebate of up to $300 per rateable property for those ratepayers/applicants who meet a specified criteria. This ceiling could change if the budget of $100,000 per year was adjusted via the Long Term Plan process.
What will the cost of a residential water meter be and is it prorated over time on our rates or a one off charge?
The capital cost of the proposed water meter installation project will be funded from loans managed within agreed Council Capital Expenditure Budgets. It is expected that a single residential water meter can be priced in the vicinity of $90 (GST exclusive). Where a manifold installation is required, the estimated full cost of installation, including meter purchase, is $400 (GST exclusive). Individual residential properties will not be billed directly for the installation of water meters. Once a final decision has been made the debt servicing costs on the loans will be recovered through the water supply charging regime.
What is the fixed daily charge accepted by Council on 5th April 2012?
The purpose of the Council meeting on 5 April 2012 was to receive the CRAG report and consider approving a charging structure for consultation. The Council subsequently agreed to consult on the CRAG recommended 50% fixed charge and a 50% volumetric charge for water meters, if water meters are introduced across the District.
There was no specific information on the fixed daily water rate provided to the Council beyond the information contained in the reports within the agenda. The main focus was on presenting information on the impact of a range of fixed / variable charging regimes on different types of businesses and households.
The annual fixed charge under water meters, however, is likely to be around $235 in 2015/16.
What do KCDC expect the percentage rate rise will be should the introduction of district wide water metering not proceed?
Should metering not proceed, the impact on rates would be as follows:
- Without water meters and implementing the full Waikanae River Recharge option the additional capital expenditure required would be $29.3 million plus GST over the 20 year period of the Long Term Plan. The additional increase in rates requirement compared to the water meter option would therefore be as follows:
- in 2015/16 $358,000 p.a. plus GST equating to a 0.64% additional increase in rates;
- in 2025/26 $1.991 million p.a. plus GST equating to a 2.06% additional increase in rates.
- Without water meters and implementing the Dam option, the additional capital expenditure required would be $42.16 million plus GST over the 20 year period of the Long Term Plan. The additional rates requirement compared to the water meter option would therefore be as follows:
- in 2015/16 $2.084 million p.a. plus GST equating to a 3.75% additional increase in rates
- in 2025/26 $3.611 million plus GST equating to a 3.73% additional increase in rates.
Why are the minutes of the Public Council meeting of 5th April 2012 unavailable to the public on your website 31 days after the meeting?
Before a set of minutes are published the full Council first has to meet to consider the draft minutes and confirm them as a fair and accurate record of the meeting. This approach is standard procedure. It is only after this approval process has been undertaken that the full minutes are then published on the Council Website, www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/councilmeetings
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I am on the Hautere water supply – how will I be affected?
The District-wide Residential Water Meters proposal does not include properties connected to the Hautere/Te Horo water scheme. Therefore customers connected to this scheme will not be affected by the water meters proposal. The Hautere / Te Horo water scheme is a restricted rural supply. Customers currently pay for water based on their restricted allocation. Council has a bulk water meter at the treatment source, however individual properties are not individually metered.
I live in an apartment. Will I share my meter with other separate apartment owners?
Council will install one meter for the apartment block. Council will send an invoice to the body corporate which will pay the bill on behalf of all property owners. The body corporate will then split the meter bill amongst the apartment owners in a way they see fit.
My house is on a cross-lease and we have one pipe from the boundary. Who will pay for any new pipes and will we have a meter for each household?
With cross-leased properties, Council’s proposal at this stage is to:
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Install and maintain a Council owned Check Meter for each rateable dwelling (house) within the cross-leased property. The cross-lease property owners would need to maintain their private water supply pipe within their private property.
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Install and maintain a Balance Meter at Council’s point of supply to compare the volume of water entering the private property versus the metered volumes at each individual house.
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Arrange surface reinstatement within private property to match what was excavated/removed, e.g. concrete driveway excavations would be reinstated with concrete at Council’s cost.
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Pay for the installation of all the water meters from its capital budget, including all the reinstatement works.
Final decisions on these matters have yet to be made by Council.
I don’t always live in my house, so will I have to pay for water I don’t use?
Your bill will be in two parts. One will cover the water you use. The other is a ‘fixed charge’. This helps to cover the cost of the Water Supply infrastructure, just like a ‘line charge’ for electricity, which you pay for whether you are at the house or not.
I live in retirement village. What will change for me?
Resthomes are already paying for water. How they pass this charge on to residents is up to them.
I’m a landlord, who will get the bill, me or my tenant?
Water charges would be issued quarterly to the property owner showing both the fixed charge and the variable consumption charge. Just like with rates, the bill will be sent to home owners as they are legally responsible for the water meter charges. How a landlord passes this cost on to tenants is up to them.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act the landlord is responsible for any fixed charge component of a water charge. The landlord can legally pass on the charge for water consumed (the variable charge) to a tenant.
The simplest protection for a landlord is to on-bill the tenant for the actual charges (according to meter readings taken at start and end of tenancy and compared with readings on rate invoices – or at regular intervals when the bills are sent). If a tenant doesn’t pay there are the usual sanctions – cost recovery, perhaps from the bond, via an application to the Tenancy Tribunal. The bond is a security against any charges owed by a tenant, and a water charges debt is really no different from any other charge that a tenant may be responsible for.
Another option would be for the landlord to make an estimate of what consumption might be and include this cost in the actual rent. However if the tenant uses more than what is estimated the landlord would not be able to recover this amount.
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I run a business. How will I be affected?
At present business units on the Coast are charged the standard flat rate (Universal Annual Charge). They are allocated 350 cubic metres a year (350,000 litres) then charged a unit rate when they go over the allocated amount.
Under the proposed new arrangement, businesses would receive a 50% fixed charge and a 50% variable charge.
Why there are occupied commercial and business premises within the Kāpiti Coast District that do not currently have water meters.
In conjunction with the introduction of the Water Supply Bylaw 2010, Council also established a three year Bylaw Enforcement Project. This project was established to identify extraordinary water users, categorise their water use and install meters where required. The project was programmed for completion in the 2012/13 financial year.
The Water Supply Bylaw 2010 states that “all extraordinary users who use a water volume greater than 350 m3 per year shall be assessed and invoiced on a quarterly basis or as required.” The bylaw also goes on to define extraordinary users as:
a) Commercial and business;
b) Industrial;
c) Agricultural;
d) Horticultural;
e) Viticultural;
f) Lifestyle blocks (peri-urban or small rural residential);
g) Fire protection systems other than sprinkler systems installed to comply with NZS 4517;
h) Out of district (supply to, or within another local authority);
i) Domestic – spa or swimming pool in excess of 10m3 capacity;
j) Temporary supply.
Since the introduction of the Water Supply Bylaw in 2010, 398 premises have been identified with extraordinary water activities. 301 of those premises are considered low volume water users, 74 medium, and 23 high.
Now that Council has identified these extraordinary users and categorised their use, the final stage of the project is to ensure these premises are metered. This stage of the project is due for completion in the 2012/13 financial year.
It should be noted that these extraordinary water users are still paying a standard water supply charge as part of their rates.
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Do I get a say about water meters?
Council has already agreed in principle to install water meters, but a final decision on a charging regime and water meters will be made on 28 June. Council is now consulting on the water meter charging regime. This consultation is now underway and runs in parallel with consultation on the Draft Long Term Plan.
How do I find relevant information?
All relevant reports are available at the district’s libraries, the Customer Services Centre and on the Council website www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/haveyoursay
A summary of the Draft Long Term Plan and the CRAG report, together with a submission form, was published in the Kapiti News on Wednesday, 18 April.
How can I make a submission?
Submissions can be made in various ways:
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Use the form that appeared in the Kapiti News; or
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online on our website; or
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print a copy of the submission form from the website and send it to Council; or
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pick up a submission form at a library or at the Customer Services Centre; or
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or you can just write to us.
Submissions close May 17.
You can indicate on the submission form whether you want to speak to your submission when hearings on both the Draft Long Term Plan and the water meters charging regime begin on May 28.
There will also be a telephone survey of 1200 representative households to gauge public opinion on the water meters issue.
What questions are being asked in the phone survey?
UMR Research is undertaking a random survey and best practice for such surveys is that the questions are never released in advance. This information will however be made available once the survey has been completed.
Why is the Submission and Consultation period 28 days incl 9 non – working days instead of the legal requirement under the Local Government Act 2002 s83 (2) of a full month?
Section 83(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 states that the consultation period as being “The period specified in the statement included under subsection (1)(g) must be a period of not less than 1 month beginning with the date of the first publication of the public notice.”
There is no legislative reference to this period having to be limited to working days. Part One of the Draft 2012-32 Long Term Plan includes a copy of the audit opinion provided by Ernst and Young that assures the reader that Council has complied with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002.
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Who are the members of CRAG?
The members are Don Hunn (chair); Jean Chamberlain (community interests and low income households from the north of the District); Don Richards (community interests and low income households from the south of the District); Ross Leggett (Chamber of Commerce); Bernard Parker (landlord and tenant interests); Charles Lloyd (Grey Power); Jill Stansfield (Older Person’s Council); Manaahi Baker (Te Ati Awa); Caleb Royal (Ngati Raukawa); and Councillors Tony Lester and Mike Cardiff.
How many options did CRAG consider?
CRAG initially considered seven different charging models that were tested against a range of household sizes and non-residential users.
What options were discarded and why?
Amongst the discarded options were: A fixed charge for supply, combined with a set allocation of water and a variable charge for water used on top of the allocation. This was viewed as unfair on low water users and too complex to administer; A charge based wholly on volumes of water used. This was considered to be unfair on high water users, while also lacking revenue stability; A fixed charge for supply, with stepped charges for usage. This was discarded for not being simple enough, and too difficult and costly to administer.
CRAG says the charging model may need to be ‘recalibrated’. When will this happen?
The charging model is to be reviewed in two years, in line with the CRAG recommendations.
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