Your connection
Most properties in the Kāpiti District are connected to town water supply, and are charged for the water they use. The exceptions are properties with private supply (such as water tanks or private bores) rather than town supply.
Find out more about how to get connected, change your connection, or disconnect your water supply.
Types of connection
Residential properties will often have their water connection through a manifold, while non-residential properties typically need an above-ground meter with a backflow preventer.
Manifolds
The manifold is your connection to town water supply. You’ll often see it as the box with a blue lid outside a property, containing the toby (tap for turning water on and off) and water meter.
There are three types of manifold, and you can see our standard drawings of each to understand them better:
- typical connection [PDF 234 KB]
- dual restricted supply manifold [PDF 188 KB]
- manifold for right-of-way and rider main connections [PDF 196 KB].
Non-residential connections
Larger developments often need larger connections than manifolds. You often see these above the ground in a metal cage.
There are two typical large connections, and you can see our standard drawings of each to understand them better:
- 50-millimetre meter installation with reduced pressure zone (RPZ) [PDF 214 KB]
- Typical layout of 100mm+ reduced pressure zone (RPZ) installation and fire supplies [PDF 198 KB].
Preventing backflow
Every connection in our district needs to have some form of backflow prevention. The kind of backflow prevention we require you to have depends on:
- the activities on your property
- the risk to our water supply network from your connection.
Manifolds come with some features to stop what's known as backflow. Backflow is water that’s gone to your house that flows back through your manifold to the main town water supply – this might happen if water pressure drops for any reason. The features of the manifold that stop backflow are called backflow prevention.
Backflow can seriously contaminate the main town water supply, so it’s important we have the tools available to stop it from happening.
Residential customers might need stronger backflow prevention if you have either:
- two sources of water at your house – for example, town supply, and rainwater tanks to top up and reduce your use of town water supply
- a fire sprinkler or an irrigation meter.
Commercial customers will need a backflow device if you:
- install a new connection
- renew an old water meter
- move or separate a meter
- install a fire sprinkler
- install an irrigation meter
- have a business that produces goods that could contaminate the water supply if it got into it – such as hospitals, beverage companies, laundries, or manufacturing.
Your plan drawings
When you’re applying to have a new supply connected to a property, you must include scale plan drawings with your application, to show where you want to locate the supply and connection at the property.
For subdivisions and large land developments, you’ll need to supply these plans to the Council Development Engineer as part of your subdivision application. They’ll work with our water engineers to review these plans and approve them. Once both the Council Development Engineer and our water engineers approve the plans, they’ll stamp the approved plans.
We need a copy of these stamped approved plans before we can connect your supply.
Getting connected
To apply for a new water connection, you’ll need to complete a Water Supply Connection form as well as your plan drawings:
More than one dwelling on a section
Whether you’re subdividing or adding extra houses to your section under other rules (like the medium density residential standards), you’ll need to look at how you set up the water supply to those houses.
Medium density residential standards
Under the medium density residential standards, you may be able to build up to three houses on your property without subdividing.
Think carefully about how you'll organise water supply to all dwellings. If you later decide to subdivide houses that were built under the medium density residential standards, you’ll need to make sure the water connections meet subdivision standards.
Following the subdivision standards when building under the medium density rules could save you a lot of digging and rework later.
Fees and charges
There’s no fee to have your application form assessed.
We upgrade standard manifold connections to dual manifold connections case by case. If we approve the new connection, we’ll give you the cost estimates. We only charge actual installation costs, and we'll let you know what this is when the installation work is completed.
For new connections, from the standard residential connection to large subdivision connections, you’ll need to enlist the services of a Council-authorised contractors.
Changing or disconnecting water supply
If you’re having a building demolished, or need a change to your property’s existing water connection, you’ll need to complete a water supply connection/alteration form:
- Water supply connection/alteration form [PDF 241 KB]
- Water supply connection/alteration (online application)