STACY SQUIRES/Stuff New Plymouth and Stratford councils are considering installing residential water meters to reduce water use in the district. Cambridge resident Gerda Elliot doesn't give much thought to how much water she’s using in the shower, but the days of leaving the sprinkler on overnight are long gone in her town. Like close to half of the country, residential water use in the Waikato town is measured by meters so, rather than paying a uniform annual charge, they pay for what they use. Use less, pay less. Use more, pay more. “It was like any change – there was a bit of an uproar against it,” Elliot says.