Water crisis finally hits home

Friday, 22 December 2023

Wellington Region Emergency Management Office is urging residents to store emergency water over the Christmas and New Year period.Pictured: L-R: Eva Neely, Mara Neely (11) with two 200-litre water tanks.

Wellingtonians have been snapping up water storage tanks as the threat of acute water shortages – and even taps running dry – this summer looms, a situation one city councillor calls “shocking”.

Local councils which sell 200-litre water tanks on behalf of the area’s emergency management office have ordered new supplies after their stock was snapped up. People are being told to keep 140 litres ‒ about a wheelie bin full – of water on hand for a week’s use by one person.

'I think it's terrible,' said councillor Diane Calvert, of the need to store water.

'We, as a city, should have more of a priority on fixing our water. But it is what it and this is the reality.

Calvert, who has two emergency tanks herself, thinks many people are unaware of the potential for water to run dry.

“I suspect a lot of people may not realise it will actually happen,” she said.

Seven 20-litre water storage containers - like these on sale at Petone’s Mitre 10 Mega - are enough for the 140L one person needs for a week.

“I don't want those people at risk not having a basic amenity as water. It's shocking.'

Dan Neely, who is a community resilience manger for Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO), has had his tanks for nine years, serving a household of four people. He has two at the front and one at the rear of the property and said they’ve come into use at critical times, such as when mains are broken.

“We have used it for water disruptions over the years where water has stopped flowing and I’ve also used it to water the garden.

It’s recommended each person have 140 litres -or about a wheelie bin-full - on hand for a week.

“The front tanks I fill up with tap water and change them once a year and I use those for in case there's any sort of water disruption. The backyard uses roof water and that’s to water the garden.”

The tanks are constructed for easy use. “Anybody can hook them up with the absolute bare minimum of experience and that they could fit in the back of a Honda Accord.”

Churton Park resident Brian Sheppard has owned his tanks for about four years and said they give him a sense of security.

“I got them originally because of earthquake resilience and having access to water in that situation. We weren't thinking in terms of water leaks or drought at that time, but more sort of a geological upset.”

Sheppard had previously helped distribute them amongst the community through a resilience awareness programme launched by his local community association.

“I think they’re very important because this [the water shortage] was not something that we were really thinking of.

“We've got to do everything we can to be sure that we're reasonably able to continue to have access to water.”

Wellington Water is warning that there could be much tighter water restrictions next year. At the moment, sprinklers can be used only every second day but tighter rules could mean having to cut indoor water use in half, stop all outdoor water use and even having disruptions to water supply.

WREMO’s regional manager Jeremy Holmes said that storing any amount of emergency water would help.

If storing what is considered the absolute minimum amount of water - three litres per person, per day, for a week - isn’t possible, then people are urged to have water containers on hand in case cities have to set up water distribution points.

Wellington Water provided 64 billion litres of water to the region in the past year. But about 44% is estimated to be lost daily to leaky public and private pipes ‒ that’s about 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools.