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Several thousand Canterbury properties either never received a bill or were undercharged for their water use over an 18-month period.
An investigation into historic problems with its water billing system has found the Selwyn District Council and its drinking and wastewater services company, Selwyn Water Ltd, are still owed $2.9 million from 2700 properties.
The figures have emerged as the district council and Selwyn Water work to resolve the billing problems identified in February.
Some of the 2700 properties were undercharged bewteen July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
Early estimates put the amount of water charges not yet recovered at up to $2.9m.
The district council said this “draft” estimate was likely to change as it has not gone property to property to check the metres.
Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon said it has also not yet decided if the properties that were undercharged will be made to pay back the lost revenue.
“It is important that the numbers are right before anything is decided. Whatever we decide will be fair to customers, and we'll be open with the community about it,” she said.
An independent PwC report into the historic issues with water charges will go before the council’s finance and performance committee on October 22 in a behind-closed-doors meeting due to its commercial sensitivity.
Gliddon said the council and Selwyn Water understand some customers were surprised by their higher-than-expected water charges.
“We know this has come as a surprise to some people, particularly those who had not previously been charged correctly for the water services they receive.
“Council and Selwyn Water are working together to rectify these historic issues, support affected customers and make sure our billing information is accurate going forward.”
Gliddon said the council intends to release the PwC report and further information when it can.
“We’re committed to being transparent with the community and will share the report, along with future plans and updates, as soon as we can.”
The council revealed in February its historic systems and processes had not consistently captured all properties and businesses receiving water and trade waste services.
Since then, Selwyn Water has been identifying and verifying the affected customers, adding them to its billing system, and working to ensure the correct charges are applied.
“We were upfront with the community in February that there were issues requiring further investigation,” Gliddon said.
“It is important we address this properly so everyone receiving the same service is treated consistently and costs are shared fairly across our community.”
The council said ensuring everyone pays the correct amount would mean the cost of operating the network was shared fairly.
The billing problem was also one reason it implemented a one-year Water Services Strategy earlier this year before making long-term decisions about its water services.
Selwyn Water chief executive Alex Cabrera encouraged residents with concerns about their bill to contact the company.
"We’re here to help, review individual circumstances, and work with our community as this issue is resolved,” he said.
“SWL and councillors have also agreed on a 12‑month Water Services Strategy to address the complexity of this work, with resolution expected ahead of the next strategy and pricing decisions in June 2027.”