No plans for water meters

Despite suggestions to the contrary, water meters are not on the cards for Porirua, a council manager has promised.

Since Porirua City Council joined Capacity in August, many residents have had their water connections upgraded.

Papakowhai resident Bill Cox was told by a contractor that the new connections were water meter-ready and it was only a matter of time before Porirua became metered.

Water meters have been a hugely controversial and divisive issue for Kapiti Coast District Council.

But there was no plan to meter residents’ water, said Peter Bailey, the council’s general manager of asset management and operations.

The new connections were simply an upgrade, and would help monitor and contain leaks in the water network, Mr Bailey said.

The upgraded connections also ensured contaminated household water was not sucked back into the network if a pipe burst somewhere.

The new connections were not necessarily easily compatible with water meters, Mr Bailey said.

It was important to remember water was not free now – it was very expensive to procure and treat drinkable water, a cost borne through rates.

He said water meters would almost certainly save money for some households, and would stop the current system, in which water- intensive gardens were being subsidised by other ratepayers.