Canterbury-wide programme for water metering suppliers

Environment Canterbury is rolling out a Canterbury-wide programme to provide guidance and set standards for the water measuring industry ahead of the introduction of National Regulations for water metering.

Water measuring system installers and suppliers from around New Zealand are being invited to become ‘Authorised Service Providers’ via a Request for Proposal process being run by Environment Canterbury in association with the Water Meter RFP Panel (which includes Irrigation NZ, industry and farmer representatives).

“The Water Measuring Services Request for Proposals is the culmination of several years of work and co-operation between Environment Canterbury, irrigators and industry providers,” said Dr Bryan Jenkins, Environment Canterbury’s Chief Executive.

“It follows on and widens a similar process last year in the Rakaia-Selwyn groundwater zone, where water measuring industry service providers were invited to submit details of their expertise, their technical systems, customer support, and pricing, for assessment by the Rakaia-Selwyn Water Meter RFP Panel,” said Dr Jenkins.

Industry service providers which submit proposals this year will be assessed by the Canterbury Water Meter RFP Panel and if they meet the necessary criteria will be granted Authorised Service Provider status for work in Canterbury. Suppliers who were approved in last year’s Rakaia-Selwyn process do not need to reapply.

“This is about ensuring water measuring suppliers are providing and installing equipment and systems which are accurate, reliable and cost effective for irrigators and other water users,” said Dr Jenkins.

“It is also about putting in place systems to provide the information to better manage Canterbury’s freshwater resource.”

Andrew Curtis, Chief Executive of Irrigation NZ, said the work being done in Canterbury will ensure best practice is followed by installers and suppliers, and is expected to provide a template for other councils as they implement water metering.

“The National Regulations for water metering are an important part of a wider programme to improve water management throughout New Zealand,” said Andrew Curtis.

“Leaving regulation to regional councils would mean only new consents or renewals could be regulated and it would take more than 25 years to get water metering completed.

“You can’t manage water if you can’t measure it and only around 30 per cent of large water takes are currently metered,” said Andrew Curtis.

As a result of the National Regulations, 98 per cent of water takes (greater than five litres a second) are expected to be metered by 2016.

Every major water consent holder in New Zealand is required to install water meters within two to six years (depending on the size of their take) as a result of the Government’s National Regulations for Water Metering (section 360), which is expected to be gazetted in September this year.

Water Measuring Services Authorised Service Providers will be listed on the website www.ecan.govt.nz/watermetering along with other information, resources and relevant contact details.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) documentation is available from Environment Canterbury Customer Services (phone 03 353-9007 or 0800 324-636) or can be downloaded from the website.

The proposals must be submitted to Environment Canterbury, 58 Kilmore Street, Christchurch, by 2pm on Wednesday 16 June, 2010.