Digital water meters provide daily water‑use data, enabling Unitywater to alert customers to potential leaks far earlier than traditional quarterly meter reads of mechanical meters.
Unitywater Executive Manager Customer Experience, Katherine Gee, said the achievement demonstrated the real and measurable value of digital technology to help customers reduce water loss and avoid unexpected bills.
“This is a significant milestone for Unitywater, with customers having now saved more than 1 billion litres of water since our digital meter pilot program began almost five years ago,” Ms Gee said.
“It’s difficult to conceptualise 1 billion litres, but we can think of it as enough water to fill the entire playing field of Suncorp Stadium to a depth of more than 13 metres,” she said.
Ms Gee said about 16,000 digital meters had been installed across Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast and Noosa so far, with thousands of customers being alerted to concealed leaks.
Mooloolaba resident, Kerry Lowe, was happy to receive a digital water meter as part of Unitywater’s trial, after previously experiencing the cost associated with a large concealed leak on her property.
“When we first moved into the house in 2019, it had been raining non-stop for weeks so I just thought the lawn and back garden had poor drainage,” Ms Lowe said.
“It lasted a few weeks, so we got a plumber to come out and the same day, I got an email (from Unitywater) to say we had high water usage, so by the time we got that sorted and the plumber came, we had a water bill over $3,500 for our very first bill when we moved in,” she said.
Ms Lowe said she then received a digital meter and was alerted to another potential leak alert from Unitywater.
“We were able to get onto it really quickly and the plumber came out, found the leak and fixed it, so we had really no impact to our bill at all,” she said.
“Having the digital device fitted was a lifesaver for us, it saved us potentially thousands of dollars, based on previous experience – without it, we could have been up for another bill of a few thousand dollars.”
Ms Gee said stories like Kerry’s highlight the program’s value.
“Traditional mechanical meters are manually read every three months, which means customers may not realise they have a leak until they receive a higher-than-usual bill,” she said.
“Digital meters change that completely – they give us the ability to notify customers early, often before significant water loss occurs.”
Unitywater’s digital meter expansion prioritises older areas where leaks are more likely to occur. The program is being delivered in ‘network blocks’ rather than street-by-street to support accurate leak detection at both household and network levels.
Customers scheduled to receive a digital meter will be notified by letter and again five to ten days before installation. No one needs to be home for the upgrade, and there is no additional fee for the service.
An early opt in option will be available from late 2026 for a fee for those who want to access the benefits sooner. For more information or to register your interest visit www.unitywater.com/digital-meters.
ENDS
