Wellington water woes: Mayor promises all information on leaks

Saturday, 20 January 2024

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has defended the council’s commitment to fixing the city’s leaking water pipes after the Government questioned what was being done to fix water issues in the city.

On Friday, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said he had written to Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy to formally request further information on how these councils were addressing water leakage and water shortage issues.

Since mid-2022, there's been a “sharp and unexpected” rise in water lost through leaks, according to Wellington Water, the region’s water services provider.

The organisation said current estimates show over 40% of the total amount of drinking water supplied, was lost through leaks. This was occurring on both the public network and on private properties.

Brown said he had written to the Wellington Water Committee to ask what actions shareholder councils were taking to reduce the possible water shortage.

“This included asking how councils were actively considering how to fix leakage issues, increasing supply, and how the short-and medium-term activity will be funded,” he said.

“Both mayors failed to respond to the chair of the Wellington Water Committee’s request for this information by the January 17 2024 deadline. This information was needed for the chair’s response to me.

“With the exception of Wellington City and Upper Hutt City, the other councils in the Wellington region were able to provide the requested information which summarised their work programmes and steps they had taken.”

Brown said he was “disappointed” that Wellington City and Upper Hutt City failed to provide Wellington Water with the required information and had now used his powers under the Local Government Act to formally request information.

On Saturday, Whanau responded saying she had requested a meeting with Brown to discuss his concerns and provide further information.

“Wellington City Council responded as requested within the deadline set by Mayor Campbell Barry on the draft letter to be sent on behalf of all shareholding councils,” she said.

“Not all of our feedback was incorporated but we fully support the letter and its intent. Had we known that two of the four councils were also providing more detailed appendices to that letter, we would have provided our own.

“Unfortunately, this misunderstanding has given rise to the perception we did not respond or that we don’t take this matter seriously. We did - and we do.”

She said the council respects the concerns shared by the minister and it was “a shame” this confusion had arisen.

“Wellington City Council will work quickly to provide all information requested by Minister Brown under the Local Government Act.”

Whanau said Wellington City Council was collectively addressing a “long legacy of underinvestment” that has reached a tipping point.

“We are working towards a regional model that is fit for purpose for the future. We know people are sick and tired of this problem that has built up from decades of underinvestment in our underground pipes from both central and local government.

“The water shortages we are currently experiencing are a consequence of this underinvestment. While there are no easy fixes, our council is committed to working together with other councils and Wellington Water to get on top of this.”

She said the council had been “working hard” to expand investment and had already increased funding for water over the last few years.

In the first year of the 2021/2031 Long Term Plan (LTP), capital investment in three waters was boosted by 33% she said.

“Over the last three years, Wellington City Council has provided Wellington Water with an additional $25 million in opex funding over and above what was approved in our 2021-31 LTP, and much of this has been directed to detecting and fixing leaks.

“As we plan our budget for the next 10 years as part of our LTP, I am committed to increasing our investment in water even further.”

Whanau said just before Christmas, the council approved $2 million in extra funding for Wellington Water to fix as many leaks as possible over the coming months.

“To ensure the extra money we are putting into Wellington Water is actually resulting in fixing more leaks we will be working with them and other councils to confirm they have the right set-up and tools to work efficiently.”