12 January 2023
Mr William
By Email
: [FYI request #24972 email] Dear William
I refer to your request for information on missed water reads regarding the Christchurch City Council
excess water charges:
I would like to request the total number of successful water meter reads and the total number of
unsuccessful water meter reads when the water meter is not found or cannot be read ect and the
process undertaken when an unsuccessful meter read has occurred.
Also as part of this request the total cost on an annual basis of residential water meter reading
since the excess water charges came into effect.
Council Response
Please note, the data below is accurate to the date you submitted your LGOIMA request.
There are currently 138,519 residential properties within the Council reporting system.
• 113,433 properties have a single metered connection, being approximately 82% of the
residential properties (single metered connection).
• 25,068 properties have shared connections, being approximately 18% of the residential
properties (shared connection residential properties). Note in the decision by Council, shared water
meters are not subject to the excess water charges, unless by written agreement.
In the latest read cycle of 90 days (from the date you submitted your LGOIMA request), there were
approximately 12,703 (approximately 11.2%) of single metered connection properties where the
water meter wasn’t readable for a variety of reasons (as outlined below). Of these, approximately
15.87% relate to reasons that are generally outside of the Council’s control.
The unreadable residential properties will at some point be subject to the excess water charge, once
the circumstances preventing the meter being read are resolved. The circumstances giving rise to
the inability to read the meters are varied, and some are easier to resolve than others.
Some occur on one off/temporary basis (such as flooding or hazards on the property at the time of
the read) which Council has limited (if any) control. Generally, these properties are subject to the
excess water charge when a reading is ascertained at the next available reading date. The water
usage for that property is then averaged out over a longer period between reads (this is discussed in
more detail below).
Other categories are ones where meters are not read and not subject to the excess water charge
until the issue preventing the water meter being read is resolved (i.e., a specific contractor is sent
out to find the meter).
The types of reasons generally within the Council’s control to remove the issue are grouped into the
following categories:
Cannot locate
For example, the water meter is buried in the garden, a homeowner has moved a fence on top of
the meter etc. Refer to question 5 below regarding the intended steps to try and remedy this issue.
Meter replaced
An existing water meter has been replaced but the Council’s system has not yet been updated to
reflect the new meter details.
Council staff need to manually input new meter information into its system. The Council contracted
temporary data staff in June 2022 to go through the water meter replacement data backlog to try
and rectify this issue. However, since this time, there is more replacement data to input. The
Council is bringing in 3 temporary data entry staff next week to continue with the work (as well as
inputting new water meters into its system (see above) to reduce the current backlog.
Box clean out required
This is where the water meter is blocked by dirt/debris. To rectify this issue, the Council must
organise specific contractors to go to site to carry out physical works. The extent of the work
involved varies for each property depending upon the circumstances.
Vegetation
Excess vegetation is blocking or hiding the water meter. To rectify this issue, the Council needs to
organise specific contractors to go to site and carry out physical works to cut back the foliage. The
extent of the work involved varies for each property depending upon the circumstances.
Wrong route
The meter that is listed on the water meter readers route is not physically on that route (it could be
a similar street name that has been mistakenly put on the wrong route). The Council’s data needs to
be updated to correct the information.
Jammed Lid
The Council needs to organise a maintenance contractor to fix the lid before the meter can be read.
Dial Unreadable
Meter is unreadable because it is either upside down, on its side, too far down to read, or has
condensation on the dial. The Council needs to organise a maintenance contractor to fix the issue
before the meter can be read.
The types of reasons generally outside the Council’s control are grouped into the following
categories:
Box flooded
The meter box is inaccessible at the time of read because of heavy rain and the area around the
meter is flooded.
Construction
The house is a construction site, and it is considered unsafe for a water meter reader to access due
to health and safety risks.
Meter inaccessible
Catch all category – for any other reason not specifically identified.
Meter removed
Mostly relates to new developments where several new meters will be replacing single meters. The
old meter has been removed but the new meters are not yet in place.
Property locked
Access to the property is prevented i.e. locked gates
Covered by car
At the time the meter reader went out to site, a car is blocking the meter.
Dog
The meter is unable to be safely accessed.
Health and Safety Risk
Catch all category – for any other reason not specifically identified.
The first table below provides a snapshot of the number of unreadable residential properties from
the last three 90 day read cycles. It indicates the number of residential properties that a meter was
unable to be read for each category.
The second table shows by way of comparison the percentage of those unreadable residential
properties compared to the total number of single metered connections.
Reason
Mar to May
Jun to Aug
Sep to Nov
Steps generally within the Council control that could be taken to remedy the issue. 1
Cannot Locate
7,891
7,072
5,636
Meter Replaced
2,257
2,795
3,535
Box Clean Out Required
731
770
610
Vegetation
347
433
451
Jammed Lid
112
171
95
Wrong Route
65
116
85
Dial Unreadable
200
202
144
No Meter
125
138
130
SUBTOTAL
11,728
11,697
10,686
Reasons generally outside Council control Construction
313
382
261
1 Subject to resourcing and budgetary constraints.
Meter Inaccessible
273
373
586
Box Flooded
1,837
2,126
952
Property Locked
98
117
104
Covered by Car
60
53
47
Dog
34
60
52
Health and Safety Risk
23
56
15
SUBTOTAL
2,638
3,167
2,017
TOTAL
14,366
14,864
12,703
Percentage of unreadable properties to single metered connection residential properties
Sep to
Mar to May
Jun to Aug
Nov
Steps generally within the Council control that could be taken to remedy the issue Cannot Locate
6.96%
6.23%
4.97%
Meter Replaced
1.99%
2.46%
3.12%
Box Clean Out Required
0.64%
0.68%
0.54%
Vegetation
0.31%
0.38%
0.40%
Jammed Lid
0.10%
0.15%
0.08%
Wrong Route
0.06%
0.10%
0.07%
Dial Unreadable
0.18%
0.18%
0.13%
No Meter
0.11%
0.12%
0.11%
SUBTOTAL
10.34%
10.31%
9.42%
Reasons generally outside Council control
Construction
0.28%
0.34%
0.23%
Meter Inaccessible
0.24%
0.33%
0.52%
Box Flooded
1.62%
1.87%
0.84%
Property Locked
0.09%
0.10%
0.09%
Covered by Car
0.05%
0.05%
0.04%
Dog
0.03%
0.05%
0.05%
Health and Safety Risk
0.02%
0.05%
0.01%
SUBTOTAL
2.33%
2.79%
1.78%
TOTAL
12.68%
13.10%
11.20%
The Averaging Process
The Council’s target for its water meter readers is to read water meters every 90 days (+/- 5 days).
If the Council is unable to read a water meter for a particular property, the readers record the
reason, and another reading is carried out in the next 90 days. The water reading is then averaged
out over the last two reads i.e. 180 days rather than 90 days. If that reading shows the water usage
for the property is in excess of the 900L allowance, the user will receive an excess water charge
based on two actual reads but averaged over 180 days or until the next read occurs. If there is a
lengthy period between reads, invoices are manually reviewed by staff.
Averaging the water usage on residential properties between reads, where there have been
occasions when reads cannot occur, ensures those properties that are high water users are still
subject to the charge. This is the case even when it is averaged out over longer read periods covering
multiple seasons of the year. If a property is consistently using excess water, then a longer read
period will not impact the charge.
Cost of Water Meter Reading
The exact costs of meter reading are commercially sensitive to our contractor and releasing them
could prejudice their and the Council’s commercial position. Therefore we have decided to withhold
specific figures under the following section of the LGOIMA - 7(2)(b)(ii) – to protect the commercial
position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information.
However, we can tell you that nationally a manual read is on average around $1 per read. For the
last 2 years we have read every water meter every quarter. Prior to that we read residential
properties every 2 years and commercial either quarterly or annually depending on consumption.
Additionally, the total administration costs for both the residential and commercial water charging
management for 12 months is approximately $250,000.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Kind regards
Ella Sullivan
Official Information Advisor
Office of the Mayor and Chief Executive
