Te oati ki te kiritaki, ngā paerewa me te kirimana
Customer promise, standards and contract
Understand what you can expect from us, how to help us maintain great service standards and how our contract works.
Our customer promise
We promise to deliver water and wastewater services you can trust.
What our promise means
We’ll always provide you with safe drinking water and treat your wastewater to protect the environment. Not only that, but you can expect us to treat you with respect and take your feedback seriously. This has always been our focus – and we hope you’ll hold us accountable for delivering on it.
Our customer promise reflects the expectations our customers have shared of their water company. For example, they understand that sometimes things go wrong, but they measure us on how effectively and efficiently we respond to those situations. They also want to be informed of issues that impact them – not just once, but throughout the process.
Our promise strives to acknowledge these and many other customer expectations.
How we deliver on our promise
SafetyWe will:
- provide you with safe water that meets Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand
- treat your wastewater to protect the environment
- keep you safe when working in your neighbourhood.
We will:
- provide you with safe water that meets Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand
- treat your wastewater to protect the environment
- keep you safe when working in your neighbourhood.
RespectWe will:
- respect your culture, values and time
- support you in difficult times
- protect your privacy.
We will:
- respect your culture, values and time
- support you in difficult times
- protect your privacy.
ServiceWe will:
- make it easy for you to contact us
- listen and respond to your concerns
- fix faults in our networks within committed timeframes.
We will:
- make it easy for you to contact us
- listen and respond to your concerns
- fix faults in our networks within committed timeframes.
EngageWe will:
- involve you in decisions about how we deliver water and wastewater services
- use your feedback to improve customer services
- help you to value water as a taonga and to use it wisely.
We will:
- involve you in decisions about how we deliver water and wastewater services
- use your feedback to improve customer services
- help you to value water as a taonga and to use it wisely.
Planned water outages Sometimes, we turn off the water supply to upgrade our infrastructure.
You can expect:
- at least five working days’ notice
- water back on within five hours
- outage to be outside of peak periods: morning (5am-9am) and evening (5pm-11pm).
Sometimes, we turn off the water supply to upgrade our infrastructure.
You can expect:
- at least five working days’ notice
- water back on within five hours
- outage to be outside of peak periods: morning (5am-9am) and evening (5pm-11pm).
Unplanned water outages Sometimes, we turn off the water supply to fix something that has broken unexpectedly.
You can expect:
- information on our website
- water back on within five hours
- emergency drinking water provided.
Sometimes, we turn off the water supply to fix something that has broken unexpectedly.
You can expect:
- information on our website
- water back on within five hours
- emergency drinking water provided.
Wastewater overflows Sometimes, our pipes become blocked or break, causing wastewater to overflow onto private property.
You can expect our crews to fix the issue and clean the area within five hours.
Sometimes, our pipes become blocked or break, causing wastewater to overflow onto private property.
You can expect our crews to fix the issue and clean the area within five hours.
ComplaintsSometimes, we may not meet your expectations.
You can expect:
- when things go wrong, it’s easy to make a complaint
- a fair and transparent process
- a response with a plan for resolution within 10 working days.
Sometimes, we may not meet your expectations.
You can expect:
- when things go wrong, it’s easy to make a complaint
- a fair and transparent process
- a response with a plan for resolution within 10 working days.
Our service standards
- Water supply pressure: minimum normal service target: 200 kilopascals (kPa)
- Water supply flow rate: minimum normal service target: 25 litres per minute (based on 15mm residential water meter)
- Water quality: maintain Ministry of Health drinking water standard
- Restoring water shutdowns: 96 per cent restored within five hours
- Enquiries and complaints: respond to enquiries within three working days of receiving them and to complaints within 10 working days of receiving them
Customer contract
When you become a Watercare customer, you automatically contract with us. Your contract is a legally binding document that we update annually on July 1st. In it, you’ll find:
- The terms under which we provide water and wastewater services to you
- Your responsibility to pay for these services
- Price schedules for domestic customers
- Terms and conditions for infrastructure growth charges
- Your rights in any dispute with us
More info on our contract, charges and billing
Residential chargesView our current charges for residential water and wastewater, including infrastructure growth charges and supply charges.
View our current charges for residential water and wastewater, including infrastructure growth charges and supply charges.
Business charges
What happens if you don’t pay your bill by the due date? Read the Watercare debt management code of practice to understand what happens if you don’t pay your bill.
Read the Watercare debt management code of practice to understand what happens if you don’t pay your bill.
Can you object to infrastructure growth charges? Read the Charter for Commissioners, which outlines the objection process for infrastructure growth charges.
Read the Charter for Commissioners, which outlines the objection process for infrastructure growth charges.
Related content
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Find out who is responsible for different pipes and where that responsibility starts and finishes.
How we calculate water, wastewater and other charges for commercial properties in Auckland.