The Queenstown Lakes District Council has begun installing the first of 500 water meters across the Queenstown Lakes district as part of a project to better understand water use.
The installations began last week, and will be completed by June.
QLDC infrastructure general manager Peter Hansby said the project was not necessarily a precursor to district-wide water charges based on volumetric use.
''We are a long way from concluding that volumetric water charging is the most effective tool to manage water demand and reduce the future cost of water and wastewater network.''
The project would enable QLDC to assess the costs of installing meters across different schemes in the district; the technical issues associated with meter installations; the potential reduction in water usage as a result of metering; the water leakage occurring at present on private property; and the relative costs and benefits of metering.
Properties were selected at random for the one-year trial and included apartments, lifestyle blocks, businesses and homes in all of the areas serviced by a reticulated council water supply.
In most cases the water meters would be installed outside the property boundary with little disruption, if any, to residents.
QLDC staff would make contact with the property owners during the trial to gather information about occupancy and other factors which impact on water usage.
This information would help the Council refine the way it calculates future water demand.
The trial is in addition to water metering already undertaken in Luggate and most of Lake Hayes, where properties are connected to water meters, used to assess water use.
