Water Meter Verification

Ensure your water meters are accurate and compliant 

Water meter verification is an essential process for farms to ensure accurate water measurements and regulatory compliance.

Are your water meters compliant?

Here's what you need to know:

  • All water meters must also be verified to prove that the measurement of water used is accurate to within +/- 5%
  • Most water measurement devices can produce accuracies of +/-5 %, and some devices are capable of better than +/-1 %
A national agreement between regional councils has determined that only verification methods that have a calculated uncertainly of less than 3% can be used. To achieve this level of accuracy, the correct verification method must be selected for each installation.
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Benefits of water meter verification

A properly calibrated and verified water meter can provide reliable data for irrigation scheduling, crop water requirements, and water allocation. They're critical for effective management of water resources, as well as for regulatory compliance. You'll also avoid over-irrigation, which can lead to water wastage.

By undertaking water meter verification at regular intervals, you'll have the confidence that your water measurement systems are providing accurate and reliable data, helping to ensure compliance, sustainable water use and increased productivity on your farm.

FAQ

How often do I need to verify my water meters?
Consenting Authority Verification Frequency (As at November 2021)
Consenting Authority Meter Type Interval for Testing
Northland Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Auckland Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Waikato Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Gisborne Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion NA
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion NA
Taranaki Regional Council
  Mechanical As recommended by verifier (max 5 years)
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
  Electronic Validation 2 Years
Horizons Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years - Installation restricted
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic N/A for clamp-on, 5 years for approved full bore meters
  Insertion NA
 
Consenting Authority Verification Frequency (As at November 2021) Continued
Consenting Authority Meter Type Interval for Testing
Greater Wellington Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Marlborough Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Tasman District Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Environment Canterbury
  Mechanical 2.5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 2.5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
West Coast Regional Council
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years
Otago Regional Council
  Mechanical Annually (Takes of 10L/s or more). Biennially (takes under 10L/s)
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years if Inbuilt, Annually if clamp-on
  Insertion 5 Years (Mag-flow)
  Other Open channel takes either annually or 5-years check consent conditions
Environment Southland
  Mechanical 5 Years
  Mag-Flow 5 Years
  Ultrasonic 5 Years
  Insertion 5 Years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What happens if a meter doesn't pass verification?

Generally the meter will need repair or replacement. Watermetrics can assess the issue and offer a competitive quote to repair or replace. We can amend headworks as required to deliver the best outcome.

What happens after booking a verification?

Our technician will arrange a time and make a site visit. We need water to be able to flow through the meter at the time of the verification.

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Why use Watermetrics for water meter verification?

Watermetrics has a full service to ensure your meters are compliant with the RMA requirements. Our team will come to your site, undertake the meter verification and submit your water meter verification report to your local council on your behalf. This affordable service couldn't be simpler and is hugely popular. That's because we:

We’re Blue Tick accredited 

We are Irrigation Blue Tick accredited with Irrigation New Zealand - qualified staff members do the work, including data reporting, meter install and meter verification

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Our equipment is known for accuracy

Our equiptment ensures the correct data is always displayed - our equipment is known for its accuracy; it's referenced, calibrated, and maintained to standard
 
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A one stop verification shop 

Report in full to the relevant consenting authority - we're a one-stop-shop that will take you through your entire water meter verification process
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External Resources

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Irrigation NZ

a membership funded national industry body that promotes excellence in irrigation

Irrigation NZ
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New Zealand Councils

Works within local government in New Zealand to provide environmental management and information nationally.

New Zealand Councils
We're just a phone call away

0800 493 7626