Requesting a water credit or rebate

The following is the remission criteria which all water credits are assessed against:

Credits for Excess Water Charges Arising from The Following Will Always Be Processed:

• Misreading of the meter or faulty meter,
• Errors in data processing,
• The meter was assigned to the wrong account,
• Leak on a Council fitting adversely impacting on the metered usage.

A Credit Will Be Considered on A Case-by-Case Basis According to the Remission Policy Criteria:

A credit will be considered on a case-by-case basis according to the following conditions and criteria:

• Leaks from pipes or fittings on farms [see footnote 1], public service, educational, social service properties and unoccupied [see footnote 2] properties (regardless of temporary or long term) or reserves, or from irrigation, stock water, swimming pools, ponds, landscaping, or similar systems on occupied properties. No credit.
• Leaks from pipes that are, or should be, visible, such as header tanks, overflows from toilets, above ground pipes or fittings and those attached to raised flooring or in walls or ceilings. No credit.
• Where the leak is a previously unknown underground leak on the main lateral between the water meter and a building or under the concrete floor. The lost water is credited where the leak has been repaired with due diligence. Only one leak per property, and maximum two consecutive water supply invoices covering the leak, per five year rolling timeframe, will be credited
• Approved residential water leak credits will be based on Council’s assessment of the property owner’s usual usage for the period
• Approved commercial/industrial water leak credits will be based on 50% of Council’s assessment of the property owner’s usual usage for the period. If the water has not entered the wastewater network, Trade Waste will also be credited
• Due diligence is defined as within two weeks of the earliest of the following:
  • The date of the first invoice to identify a higher than usual [see footnote 3] usage; or
  • The date of discovery or when it could have reasonably been discovered

• The leak must be repaired by a Licensed or Certifying plumber who provides a brief report on the leak, where on the line the leak was found, dates and an opinion, as to how long the leak had been occurring
• In extraordinary circumstances which fall outside the criteria above, a remission may be granted at the sole discretion of the Council’s Group Manager Corporate Services. This may apply where a water credit remission application has been declined, and where this could lead to cases of genuine financial hardship for the ratepayer (owner/occupier), or where timely detection of a leak could not have reasonably occurred.

Footnote 1: For the purpose of assessing credits for excess water arising from leaks “farm” is defined as any property that is or can be used for the growing of crops, including trees or rearing of livestock, with a land area greater than 5000 square metres.

Footnote 2:  Unoccupied is taken to mean where there is no permanent building on the property or where the building is not occupied for more than seven days.

Footnote 3: Usual being the amount used in the same period as last year. These amounts are shown on every water account.

Please download the Credit Request for Private Water Leak application form (121KB PDF)

Once completed, please attach your plumber’s bill and report and email the documents to customer service or post to

Attention: Customer Service
PO Box 645
Nelson 7040

Alternatively, these can be dropped into the Customer Service Centre at 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson