We can’t manage what we don’t measure

For years New Zealand had been well endowed with fresh water resources and New Zealanders have used them as if they were in unlimited supply. But the rapidly increasing demand for water, which has accelerated in the past 20 years, is placing this precious resource at risk.

01 While many of us value water, we often take it for granted.

“The problem is we are close to, and in some cases exceeding, the amount of water that can be taken.”

“The problem is we are close to, and in some cases exceeding, the amount of water that can be taken,” says Craig Mallett, the Ministry’s Natural Systems Policy Manager. “At the same time, our activities are reducing the ability of water to safely absorb pollution.

“We run the risk of facing serious economic, environmental, social and cultural implications if we don’t do something about it,” Mallett says.

The New Start for Fresh Water programme announced by the Government in June this year aims to address these water demand and quality issues.

The programme will look at ways of setting and enforcing water quality and take limits that reflect ecological bottom lines and wider community values, as well as finding ways to maximise the value we get from sustainably using water.

02 Horizons Regional Council’s
WaterMatters website has been designed
to measure the amount of water being
abstracted, and to then check how
these volumes compare to the
requirements of resource consent
conditions. Photo Horizons
Regional Council.

03 A water meter works in a similar
way to an electricity meter.

“But for this to happen, we need to improve the information on the amount of water we use, and the impact of that use,” says Mallett. “At the end of the day, we can’t manage what we don’t measure.”

According to Mallett, the lack of accurate and reliable water use records will be addressed through greater use of water metering. “Water metering helps us measure how much water is actually being used, as opposed to the volume water users have permits to take.

“The Ministry is currently progressing work on regulations to require metering of all water take consents under the Resource Management Act (RMA). The regulations will apply to consented takes but not domestic (household) or stock water takes, which do not need consents under the RMA,” says Mallett.

Household water metering, however, is used in many regions throughout New Zealand to help manage our water use and demand.

Auckland City, Manukau City, Papakura District, North Shore City, Waitakere City, Rodney District, Tauranga City, Franklin District, Nelson City, Whangarei District, Hauraki District, Tasman District and Christchurch City all have residential water metering. There are also a number of other councils where particular areas are subject to residential water metering.

Some other councils around the country are considering introducing residential water metering, including Wellington City.

The statistics show that water metering can be effective. Evidence has revealed that consumers with water meters used 40 per cent less water than those without. Councils that have introduced residential water metering have found that overall water usage has decreased. Volume charging in Nelson City Council, for example, has reduced peak water demand over summer by at least 37 per cent.

“However, water metering, in some regions, has been met with trepidation,” says Mallett. “Public acceptance is a hurdle to the introduction of water metering by local authorities.”

According to Mallett, work that the Ministry commissioned in May this year on household water use showed there were considerable fears and objections to the idea of water metering among those in an area that is not currently metered.

The research found that New Zealanders in general had very little knowledge of the amount of water they used and the types of activities that used the most water. In general they viewed water as a precious resource, but at the same time didn’t see a need to actively conserve it.

“So while many New Zealanders value water, they often take it for granted and rarely think about it unless there is a crisis,” Mallett says.

“In fact, among those surveyed in Wellington, without household water meters, the idea of water being measured and charged for created a sense of ‘loss’ of a New Zealand ‘way of life’ – where water is free and unrestricted use is mostly possible.”

Survey participants noted they did not know how much water they used per year, so it was hard to estimate what the benefits or disadvantages of household water metering might be.

“These findings highlight the need for us to move away from the attitude that water should be freely available as a right and start treating it as a valuable and limited natural resource,” says Mallett.

“Taking steps to better measure and understand fresh water resources, along with initiatives to set limits to manage quality and demand will enable New Zealand to get the most value from its water resources. This is what the New Start for Fresh Water programme is aiming for.”

What is a water meter?

A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage. For households, they work in a similar way to electricity meters.

Water meters measure how much water your household uses. This information helps councils manage and forecast how and where water needs to be supplied. In most areas where residential water meters are installed, households are charged for the volume of water they use.

In some areas ratepayers are able to choose to have a water meter installed and pay for the volume they actually use, rather than be charged a set amount as part of their rates bill.

For more information go to www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/freshwater/new-start-fresh-water.html

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