It urges householders to protect their meter. A council statement says it owns the device “but it is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure that it is not damaged”.

In the past week, there have been at least ten incidents of burst water pipes and the loss of supply.

The council said: “Water meters that are housed in a Council issued meter box are protected from the elements and if damaged, will be replaced by Council at no cost to the property owner. Costs associated with repairs to water meters that are damaged whilst not protected by a Council issued meter box will be the responsibility of the property owner.”

It laid out the charges: “Water meter boxes are $90.00 and can be purchased via our Town Hall office. In comparison, the cost to replace the water meter is $189.00.”

Fire and Rescue NSW has also put out a warning connected to the cold temperatures. Captain Earl Sharman of Glen Innes urged people to take care with charging mobile phones and tablets. There have been instances of people in the state putting them under their pillow at night and then a bed fire starting.

He also said people should take care when heating bags of rice to warm the bed.

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