Smart water meter program 2023-2026

Council is replacing existing mechanical water meters with smart water meters throughout the Cairns region to assist residents in identifying leaks early, minimising water wastage and improving the capability of Council’s water network. This is an action identified under Council’s Water Demand Management Strategy 2016-2025 and will make a significant contribution to our water security by achieving water savings for the community.

Smart water meters use wireless technology devices with long life batteries to record water usage data which can be collected more frequently and more accurately without having to physically read the meter for billing purposes. You will benefit from improved detection of hidden water leaks.  Smart meters provide Council with information about backflow, water temperature, leaks, and broken pipes, to support the production of a low-cost, high-quality water service.

Currently, your water meter is manually read by a contractor every four months for billing purposes, which only provides Council with a one-time reading of your water usage. The new smart water meter, on the other hand, provides Council with daily data which can help you quickly identify leaks and facilitate timely repairs, improving water management and potentially saving you money.

Smart water meters are highly accurate when recording usage and some customers may notice differences in their overall water usage when compared to readings from their current meters. Before installation, all new smart meters undergo testing to ensure accuracy, including both manual and wireless readings. Your water usage bill will still be issued every four months.

All water meters are the responsibility of Council and will be repaired and maintained by Council. If you experience any issues or damage with your meter, you can report it to us for investigation.

There will be no charge to you for the cost of the new replacement smart meter or its installation. The outcomes will have long-term cost savings to Council and ratepayers over the next 20 years.

Yes, smart water meters are becoming the new industry standard, with many councils within Queensland and across Australia transitioning to this new technology.   A good case study of the effectiveness of smart water meters is in Mackay where over 90% of residents now have smart water metering.  As a result, the average per capita residential consumption reduced from approximately 240 litres per person per day to around 210 litres per person per day - a reduction of just over 12%, and the average duration of a water leak reduced from over 150 days to 60 days.

The smart water meters are powered by batteries with a 15 year life time. CRC will be responsible for monitoring the battery status and replacement when required, the meters have built alarming to notify council to assist with monitoring. The residences/owners/occupiers will not be required to monitor or replace batteries.

The smart water meters transfer the water consumption data securely electronically to council, this removes the need for manual water readers to visit your property. The water meters have display screen with the water consumption on them which can be manually read.

If you have a smart water meter installed at your property, your billing duration or cycle won't change. Please refer to Smart Water Meter Read Instructions ( PDF, 0.48 MB ) on how to read your smart water meter.

As part of the project Council will also be developing a customer portal which will allow users to access and monitor their own water usage data online. Once the regional installation program is complete, information about the customer portal, when it will be available, what it will offer and how you can access it, will be provided.