Water summit as region on brink of crisis

Monday, 11 September 2023

When it comes to Wellington’s water shortage, there is no shortage of suggested solutions.

Fix the leaky pipes, install water meters, build another dam; inevitably, one day, all of the above. But in what order?

Today’s first-ever water shortage summit puts the relevant authorities in the same room – district mayors, city and regional councillors alike, mana whenua – to weigh those options, in the hopes of reaching a consensus.

Lower Hutt mayor and chair of the regional water committee Campbell Barry is convening the summit and says the stakes are high.

“If we have a dry summer – or even just a summer without the type of rainfall we’ve had the last couple of years – then we’re staring down major water shortages.”

That could mean the prospect of level-three water restrictions, including unpopular concessions like two-minute showers. And if last week’s predicted El Niño-like pattern is any indication, then that dry summer could be on the way.

Rainfall aside, leaky pipes remain a constant worry – with about 44% of the region’s water supply currently lost to leaks. In the capital alone, that’s roughly the equivalent of 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools down the gurgler each day.

Barry said the summit was an opportunity for all parties to consider the same up-to-date information about the crises, and “get on the same page”.

However, a brief survey of the region points to entrenched differences.

Porirua City mayor Anita Baker said leaks were only part of the waste. “It’s not just what we’re losing; it’s what we’re using. People just turn on the tap and don’t think about it.”

Once people were charged for the volume of water they used, they tended to use less, Baker said – pointing to the recent experiences of neighbouring Kāpiti Coast District Council.

Indeed, people across the Wellington region use between 210 and 224 litres per person each day. By comparison Aucklanders, who are incumbent upon water meters, use between 140 and 175 litres a day.

Upper Hutt mayor Warren Guppy doesn’t think meters should take precedence.

They would be costly to install, he said, with the expense likely passed onto cost-burdened ratepayers.

“You need to be up front with people that you’re gonna charge them much more for water, ‘cause that’s the only way to pay for [the metres].”

Instead, Guppy backed building “a new water supply” – in the form of a dam – something he believed Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and Wellington Water should have already done.

GWRC chairperson Daran Ponter poured cold water on this suggestion.

“We shouldn’t think we can just build our way out of this with more dams, while we just keep on mindlessly consuming more water.”

The actual answer was two-prong, Ponter suggested: fix the leaks, while at the same time committing to water meters. Only then would the regional council be armed with the information necessary to decide when to build a new dam.

Wellington Water chief executive Tonia Haskell said the decision around water meters was one for each council to take.

“What we can say though is that implementing universal water meters is an industry best-practice tool for reducing leaks and managing water loss.”

An increase in leaks meant “the available buffer” in the water supply was becoming increasingly tight, Haskell said. An average summer, therefore, could result in “tighter water restrictions for longer periods”.

Wellington City mayor Tory Whanau called water meters “a potential solution” worthy of further consideration at the summit.

“Most mayors and most councillors are discussing it. We’re nowhere near any sort of decision point.”

Barry said he didn’t want to “pre-determine discussions” by weighing in ahead of the summit.

Late last year, he expressed concerns about the impact of charging for water on lower socio-economic groups.

Even if consensus isn’t found, Barry believed councils might need to act anyway. “But we know it’s going to be far more effective if we work together.”

No concrete decisions can be taken at the summit, with possible solutions needing to “go back to individual councils” first.