Glossary

Aa-grade water

Aa-grade water
The top-quality water we supply to your taps. Grades are indicated by two letters, and range from Aa down to Ab, etc. A = The quality of water leaving the treatment plants, and the quality of the source water. a = The quality of water at your home or business.

Actual reading (water meter)

Actual reading (water meter)
We take two types of water meter readings to calculate your monthly water bill: actual and estimated. An actual reading is when a meter reader visits your property and reads your water meter. This shows the amount of water you have used since your previous actual reading. We do this every alternate month (e.g. January, March, May, etc). In the other months (e.g. February, April, June, etc) we make an estimated reading, based on your past two actual readings.

Aquifer

Aquifer
An underground layer of rock, sand or gravel that can hold water.

Asset

Asset
Watercare’s assets are the structures and facilities we own and operate, such as watermains, sewers, water meters, manholes, tanks, dams and treatment plants.

Authorised tenant

Authorised tenant
To enable a tenant to deal with us directly about the water bill, a landlord or property manager can agree to authorise a tenant. The landlord must let us know that they have made this arrangement with their tenant. An authorised tenant can receive the water bill, switch to e-billing, and ask us about payments or meter reading dates.

Backflow prevention device

Backflow prevention device
A device that stops contaminants or harmful liquid from flowing from a property into the public water supply.

Biogas

Biogas
A by-product of the wastewater treatment process that is about 65 per cent methane.

Biosolids

Biosolids
A by-product of the nutrient-rich, organic sludge produced when we treat wastewater.

BNR

Bionutrient removal
A natural process to treat wastewater. Micro-organisms eat the carbon in the wastewater, and reduce the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen.

Boundary kit

Boundary kit
A box with a red lid that houses the connection point between a private drain and the public wastewater network. When Kumeu-Huapai and Riverhead residents connect their property to our wastewater network, they must install a pressure wastewater collection unit. The boundary kit is installed between the unit and our wastewater pipe.