Cuttings costs for water metering
Reducing the cost of water meters was the main topic of discussion at a meeting held last week between Environment
Canterbury and representatives of water consent holders in the regional council’s Rakaia Selwyn Groundwater Zone. Water
meters will soon be a requirement for all consented water takes in the region.
ECan plans to put out a tender to suppliers of water meters to get a better deal for the consent holders. At the
meeting, five farmers from across the zone agreed to form a panel that would advise ECan on the tendering.
Environment Canterbury chief executive Dr Bryan Jenkins said, “The sooner we have good information on water use in the
zone, the better. A comprehensive set of water data will strengthen our ability to make quality decisions for
sustainable resource management.”
The meeting also considered different approaches for the installation of meters, leading to a recommendation that ECan
establish an approved list of suppliers that individuals could contact.
John Young, ECan’s manager water metering, says “The real challenge will be the installation and implementation of the
metering. I believe the cluster groups can help guide us with this.”
At the meeting in Dunsandel, representatives of the five cluster groups got together to focus on the issue of water
metering. Consent holders included representatives of the dairy corporations Synlait and Dairy Holdings Ltd.
Cluster groups are made up of predominately water consent holders whose consents are being reviewed by the regional
council as part of the Restorative Programme for Lowland Streams. They are grouped by geographic and hydrological
similarities.
Cluster groups provide an opportunity for consent holders to have input into the implementation of the Restorative
Programme for Lowland Streams, including the use of water management tools such as ‘adaptive management’ in the future.
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