Concern has been developing for some, and questions raised regarding the proposed roll out and costs for the planned introduction of water meters in the Wellington region. The proposal has been announced as part of the establishment of the new water company, Tiaki Wai which officially began operations on 1 July 2026.
Tiaki Wai is the new council-owned company established as a water organisation under the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025, which is responsible for providing drinking water supply, wastewater and stormwater services to the Wellington metropolitan area from 1 July 2026. It owns water assets and infrastructure transferred from five councils: (Greater Wellington, Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City, and Upper Hutt City).
Property owners are already paying for water services through their rates paid to councils. From 1 July 2026, the cost of those water services will instead be charged separately by, and paid directly to, Tiaki Wai.
One of the activities proposed for Tiaki Wai has been the installation of water meters throughout the region that Tiaki Wai covers.
Tiaki Wai admits that this will take several years to implement, and there is public debate over the cost of the proposed meters and questions about the suggested cost estimates for their installation across the region.
Initially, Tiaki Wai proposes to run trial programmes to test and learn about installation costs and operation of meters with pilot schemes in selected areas, starting in 2027. Tiaki Wai plans to install smart meters that can be read electronically but has not yet finalised the exact specifications. It expects that full implementation across the region Tiaki Wai covers will take approximately five to seven years.
Tiaki Wai claims, “Meters are central to managing demand and deferring the need for costly new water sources. They help customers understand and manage their water use. They also help with finding network leaks and private property leaks more quickly.”
“Meters also allow for volumetric charging; that is, paying a charge based on the amount of water used. The details of how volumetric charging would be applied, including the proportion of volumetric and fixed costs, will be developed in coming years, and people will be consulted before changes are made.” So, everything is still in the development stage.
For now, the charges for drinking, waste and storm water will be determined according to separate criteria for each of the councils, while a small proportion of customers – primarily commercial water users – already using water meters will receive a separate bill related to the amount of water they use.
For more information about Tiaki Wai and its operations (including information about water meters) go to https://www.tiakiwai.co.nz/faq