Missing water readings tracked
Missing water meter readings marred the 2021-22 season in Tasman district and prompted action from Tasman District Council.
‘‘It is not for lack of communication,’’ council compliance and investigations officer Neil Green told elected members on the regulatory committee.
‘‘We do communicate that water meter readings are important.’’
Those readings helped with decisionmaking about the resource, Green said.
‘‘We do want to know the state of our aquifers and we want to know what is being used because ultimately it is for the benefit of everybody – all the water users.’’
Of the 1297 consented metered takes for the season, 1033 were deemed active and weekly water meter readings were required. Of 135 permitted takes – subject to the Moutere domestic zone rules – 119 were active and six-monthly water use readings were required.
In a report on the issue, Green said missing readings occurred throughout the season but were particularly prominent towards the end.
‘‘A problem proving difficult to overcome is the perceived importance (or lack thereof) of providing weekly water meter readings once the need for irrigation diminishes,’’ he says. ‘‘This usually coincides with the completion of harvest or sustained wet periods, particularly after restrictions have been lifted.’’
While consent holders are required to provide meter readings all year, when they inform the council that their water use has ceased, ‘‘the council allows users to stop supplying readings until the following season commences’’.
‘‘Advice must be formally given to the council that use has ceased and water accounts are then switched from ‘active’ to ‘finished’ status,’’ Green said.
‘‘The council cannot and does not assume that water use has ceased for the season because readings stop for obvious reasons. Council conveys this message to users at the end of every season to avoid non-compliance.’’
To address non-compliance, 34 formal warnings were issued, along with one abatement notice and two fines for breaching an abatement notice.
Twenty-seven audits were undertaken and a fee imposed in accordance with the council’s missing reading audit policy. That fee was set at $246 per audit for the 2021-22 financial year.
Green also stressed that the majority of water users ‘‘do the right thing’’.