Council is installing three bulk flow meters on the drinking water network in east Rakaia, as part of its Rakaia metering trial project.

Smart water meters are being installed on household connections to gather data on water use, and Council is also installing flow meters on watermains at Normanby Street, South Town Belt and Rolleston Street.

Group Manager of Infrastructure Neil McCann said affected residents may have no water for at least two hours while the bulk flow meters are installed in the next week or so, depending on community use.

“We are planning to do the work when demand on the system is low, and the watermains will be shut down for two or three hours.”

Low/no water may be experienced on:

• Normanby Street, shutdown from 9am on Friday 20 February
• South Town Belt, shutdown from 9am on Tuesday 24 February
• Rolleston Street, shutdown from 9am Thursday 26 February

Mr McCann said contractors would prepare the worksites on the afternoon before each of the shutdowns the following morning to fit the bulk flow meters.

“We’ve already installed about 180 domestic water meters in east Rakaia which are transmitting data on water use. It is also important to be able to measure flow in the Council water pipes that take water to each household, so we can compare the data to find leaks in the system.”

The smart meters being trialled at Rakaia have advanced technology that captures data every 30 minutes which is uploaded to a cloud platform.

“We use the information to look for unusual water use, which might indicate a leak in Council’s pipe network or on private properties. The information is also really helpful when we programme water pipe renewals, as an area with a lot of leaks might indicate a bigger issue.

“The ability to also gather how much water households use and when, is valuable, and helps us better manage our assets for the community.”

Methven, Hinds and Mayfield already have meters and Council is proposing to roll out water meters to the rest of Rakaia and in Ashburton over the next two years.

Mr McCann said water meter technology was a rapidly developing field and the results of the Rakaia trial would inform the wider roll out.

“Information is important and helps show the water regulators that we are using water wisely, as well as complying with the conditions of Council’s consent to take water for community supplies.”

The Rakaia trial will end in December, and council staff will present the results of the trial to Council early next year to consider which meters and associated technology should be used in the wider rollout of meters.

The Water Services Delivery Plan is proposing to spend $7.3m over two years to roll out the water meters.