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Water allocation

Complying with your Water Permit

Water is an essential commodity and water resources are limited. Therefore its important to manage the existing water resources sustainably.

Managing Auckland's water resources is a balancing act between:

  • providing water for industry, agriculture and domestic uses and
  • protecting water for other uses - wildlife, ecosystems, recreation, Tangata
    Whenua, the community and future generations

Please Read Your Water Permit


Individual water takes can have an effect on other water users and the environment.
Therefore this needs to be regulated for the benefit of all. Most permits to take water have the following standard conditions:

  • maximum amount of water you can take per day and year
  • installing and maintaining a water meter
  • reading the water meter and returning the readings to us at the specified intervals
  • maintaining access to your bore for water level and water quality testing
  • how or when the permit will be reviewed before it expires.

Self Monitoring


Most permits to take water have self monitoring conditions attached to it. Reading your water meter and reporting the readings to the ARC is one of the standard self monitoring conditions on permits to take water. Other common self monitoring conditions include water level and water chemistry measurements. Self-Monitoring means those who use the resource become actively involved in managing the resource.

What's in it for you


Other than fulfilling your side of the contract, you will keep your costs to a minimum. If we have to pursue you for complying with your conditions, we will charge you for the officers time, travel and material expenses. On the plus side, installing and reading a meter enables you to:

  • become more aware of your water use
  • maximise water use efficiency by identifying leaks, overwatering and other problems around the property
  • verify your actual water requirements against your allocation. Your annual charges are based on your allocation, so if you are using less water, you can reduce your allocation and save on your annual charges.


Compliance Assessment and Site Visits


The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) has an ongoing compliance program to ensure that consent holders are complying with their resource consent conditions:

  • site visits can be undertaken to check if all construction, installation and maintenance works are done as per the consent requirements
  • compliance audit to see if the reporting conditions are being met 
  • check to see if the water use is within the consent allocation limits,
  • the ARC recovers costs associated with non compliance, which can include charge for officers time, travel and materials.

Education is Better Than Enforcement


Please read the conditions of your resource consent, and if you have any questions, we will be glad to help you.

We can help with:

  • explaining how to comply with your permit conditions
  • advising you about what kind of water meters to buy
  • showing you how to read the meter 
  • arranging you to be able to submit readings online
  • discussing how you can use your water more efficiently
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