'Summit' call in Auckland-Waikato water stoush

Sunday, 28 June 2020

The Lower Nihotupu water storage dam in Auckland's Waitākere Ranges was 45 per cent full on June 22.

Waikato officials have called on all parties in Auckland's water wrangling saga to get around a table to thrash out a solution.

Waikato Regional Council’s chair Russ Rimmington has set a Wednesday afternoon date for a meeting in Hamilton to which he's invited leaders from the Waikato River Authority, Waikato-Tainui, Auckland Council and Watercare, as well as Enviroment Minister David Parker.

It comes as Auckland battles through an ongoing drought that has drained reservoirs . The supercity's quest for more water from the Waikato River has met with concerns from Waikato-Tainui and others who fear it could leave others short.

Rimmington said the meeting was not to 'relitigate history, but to find a positive pathway to avert Auckland’s water supply crisis.'

“We had constructive talks earlier this month with Auckland Council and Watercare, and we agreed a collective meeting was needed. I am concerned that since this agreement was reached, central government has been asked by Auckland Council to find solutions without us having had the opportunity to collectively meet to find solutions ourselves.

* Waikato council rejects Auckland's 'queue jumping' bid for water

* Auckland drought: Waikato ripples over bid to fast-track river water take

Auckland's storage lakes currently sit at a 25-year low of 45 per cent, with MetService forecasting a dry spring ahead, and a council economist recently projected 14,000 jobs were at risk.

Tensions have risen in proportion to the drop in Auckland's water storage, with Rimmington only last week calling Auckland's attempt to get its bid for more water in future fast tracked under the government's Covid-19 response 'offensive'.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff expressed frustration the city had waited years for a hearing under current consent rules.

Rimmington called it a 'backdoor approach' but has struck a more conciliatory tone to get the players around a table.

“It is my experience that place-based solutions are always more durable and sustainable,” Rimmington said in a statement on Sunday. “That’s why I have called for this urgent meeting in Hamilton – to find pragmatic solutions that also protect the Waikato River now and into the future.”

Council chief executive Vaughan Payne said processing of Auckland water provider Watercare's latest application, lodged only last month, had been put on hold with Watercare’s agreement while it consults with mana whenua.

“But my staff have indicated the application fits within the allocable flow and Watercare looks to have made a reasonable case for the need.

The 2013 application from Watercare, to take 200 million litres per day from the Waikato River year-round, is intended to meet population growth needs in 2030.