Water meter ultimatum: Upper Hutt ‘will not be blackmailed’

Tuesday, 19 December 2023

Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy is sure to come under increasing pressure to support water meters and to invest heavily in fixing leaks. Greater Wellington is threatening to impose a water surcharge on councils who do not take the regions water shortage seriously.

Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy is promising not to give in to “blackmail” after being given an ultimatum to show a commitment to water meters or face the consequences.

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairperson Daran Ponter last week wrote to the four Wellington metro mayors giving them an ultimatum ‒ make progress on installing universal water meters or face the consequences. He gave them until January 31 to show meaningful progress to include meters in their long-term plans.

Fixing leaks is an expensive business for Wellington Water.

The regional council has the authority to impose a surcharge on water, which Ponter said could be as high as 50% for councils that did not commit to installing meters and fixing leaks.

.Earlier this month, The Post noted that Upper Hutt had 269km of pipes which needed to be renewed but the council was replacing only 1.65km of pipes a year. The estimated cost of fixing the pipes is $500m and Upper Hutt has only budgeted a fraction of that figure. But Upper Hutt is losing 52% of its drinking water to leaks.

Guppy replied that if Ponter and the regional council wanted a fight, they could have one.

He regarded the letter as “blackmail“ and an inappropriate way for the regional council to behave.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau wants to see a business case before committing to water meters.

“There will be a reply and that reply will be, ‘bring it on’.”

He was deeply suspicious of the advice given to his council by Wellington Water, the body that supplies water services to the wider region, and said Upper Hutt would not consider meters until it was presented with a robust business case.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau said her council was looking at funding a business case for meters.

“We recognise water meters are an important tool to help reduce water leaks and waste, but it’s a significant change and cost for ratepayers. So, we need to get the details of how that would roll-out and compare it against other water infrastructure priorities.”

Her council remained committed to fixing leaks in its ageing network and recently increased its budget by $2m.

“That’s on top of an already record $110m we’re spending on water this year.”

She did not respond to a question regarding the appropriateness of Greater Wellington’s ultimatum.

Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry supported Greater Wellington’s approach and said water meters were included in its long term plan.

Porirua mayor Mayor Anita Baker supports water meters.

Wellington Water was set up by the councils to take a regional approach, he said. “We can’t keep burying our heads in the sand and Daran’s letter signals that.”

As the chair of the Water Committee, which represents councils across the region, he believed the letter was justified.

“It reinforces the seriousness of the situation we are in.”

The region faced the very real possibility of running out of water and all the metro councils had to work with Wellington Water and Greater Wellington to reduce the leaks.

“We need a plan in the medium term and all the available evidence points to meters being the best way to get on top of the water loss.”

Porirua mayor Anita Baker said her council supported water meters.

“We are definitely on board with meters, it is just a matter of when we start. We know we have to do it.”