Most councils don’t track water use, and you can’t manage what you don’t measure

2026-03-08 - 16:07

Comment: A changing climate is making stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water management increasingly challenging for local authorities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Over summer, many regions were coping with the fallout from too much water, but next summer they might once again be dealing with the problem of too little. Understanding how much water is available to supply our homes and how it is being used is the first step in developing policy that is efficient, cost-effective, and fair. However, our new research shows, shockingly, that some 80 percent of local authorities don’t keep real-time, uniform records that would give us this information. The implications of this for managing water sustainably are huge. Collecting robust and up-to-date information is essential for effective evidence-based policy and ensuring a reliable local water supply for all New Zealanders. The good news is that solutions abound. Technological advancements mean tools, such as smart water meters, allow data on water quantity to be collected efficiently and uniformly. Smart meters also enable a variety of pricing mechanisms and tariff structures that can incentivise water conservation while protecting the most vulnerable households. But there is a trade-off; water meters have substantial set-up costs. About 10 years ago, Kapiti Coast District Council paid $8 million to install household water meters. Cost estimates for installing smart meters in the entire Wellington region have varied from $144 million to $300 million. But the benefits can also be substantial – not least, helping to ensure safe drinking water for all. For local authorities grappling with the trade-offs associated with the investment, a staged approach to implementation would generate better outcomes at lower cost. Our research outlines how this type of approach could work. First, councils should install standard, cheaper but effective analogue water meters at each residential property. Analogue meters provide a measure of total water used at a property. They can therefore help councils identify, and thus manage, water leaks as well as provide households with usage information that could nudge people towards water conservation. Second, councils should install smart meters for a sample of the target population (e.g. 10,000 households in Wellington). These meters can provide real-time data on water use. Installing them in some households would lower initial implementation costs but still allow the collection of better data to inform water demand modelling and forecasting. Third, data from both analogue meters and smart meters should be used to estimate demand and to set volumetric prices for water – prices based on the amount used – that will help with cost recovery in the longer term. A range of approaches could be used to inform the design of local tariff structures to ensure the tariff paid is equitable, as well as efficient and cost-effective. For example, most councils using volumetric pricing offer a rates rebate for lower-income households. Other approaches, such as a fixed rate for average daily use, can also work. Last, councils should incorporate their information on water supply and demand into a nationally managed public database. This will increase transparency, improve public accountability, and highlight organisational innovation or lags. This last step is critical for improving water policy. Our country has a poor record of environmental reporting and a dearth of infrastructure for managing the information local authorities collect. It’s high time this changed, especially with climate change multiplying the risks of contamination and insufficient supply. Let’s learn from others. For example, the Urban Water Explorer database used in Queensland, Australia, provides up-to-date information about the state’s water and sewerage services. A similar public database here would ensure information could be accessed and used by citizens, researchers, and policymakers alike. This shouldn’t be seen as just a nice-to-have. A public database that records and tracks water availability and consumption patterns consistently over time is a must-have if the country is to achieve its goal of improved water quality and more reliable water supplies for communities.