Story: Sewage, water and waste

Water meters

Water meters

Dunedin City Council worker Tom Hotton holds up two water meters in 2008. Water meters are compulsory in some local-authority areas, while other councils charge a fixed amount for water supply as part of rates. Some offer the option of installing meters. There is a fixed charge for installation, then householders are charged for actual water use. In cities where meters have been introduced, use levels have dropped. Tauranga installed water meters in the early 2000s. Daily water usage, which averaged 400–500 litres per person in the late 1990s, dropped to 325 litres in the early 2000s.

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Otago Daily Times
Photograph by Peter McIntosh

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How to cite this page:

Christine Dann, 'Sewage, water and waste - Water supply', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/24441/water-meters (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Christine Dann, published 11 Mar 2010