Water metering will stay but some water users will get a "period of grace" before bills start, the Central Otago District Council has decided.
The controversial topic was debated for more than an hour at yesterday's first council meeting, with councillors agreeing to follow the advice of its water services manager, Russell Bond.
It will continue to install meters on properties connected to council water supplies, but billing of owners of small sections will be deferred until revised charges for excess water are adopted by the council.
Owners of large sections (1100sq m and greater) are already charged for extraordinary water use.
"There's nothing like leaping into our first meeting with some of the big issues, and this is an example of one of them," new mayor Tony Lepper said.
He had a stack of letters from residents on the subject.
Most were complaining about water quality; others had concerns about variations in water charges and allocations throughout the district.
Community boards set the amount of "free" water allocated to each property and the charges for excess water use.
Council water supplies cater for residents of Alexandra, Cromwell, Clyde, Ranfurly, Roxburgh, Lake Roxburgh Village, Naseby, Omakau, Patearoa, Pisa Village and Bannockburn.
Meters have been installed on every property in some towns, while other towns are part-way through the metering process.
Commercial users and large-section owners are already being charged for extraordinary water use.
Cr John Lane said metering was introduced because it cost "zillions" of dollars to produce water.
The aim was to encourage water conservation, which would reduce both the capacity needed for upgraded water treatment plants and the cost of those upgrades, Mr Bond said.
The council's assets and contracts manager, Murray Washington, said one of the matters to be addressed in a district-wide water policy was that there was no "reward" for people conserving water.
"The current system doesn't do that."
Cr Gordon Stewart said the cost of supplying water varied across the district and community boards should continue to decide charges and allocations for their own area.
Cr Steve Battrick said a district-wide policy was vital, as the council had a responsibility to smaller communities that were struggling to upgrade.
Mr Bond said there was misunderstanding about "free" water allocations.
The water was paid for through a targeted rate.
"People turn their tap on and don't see that it costs. Water metering puts a cost on it, " he said.
