Dam to be footed by CHB ratepayers

All Central Hawke's Bay ratepayers will pay for water if the council chooses to get it from RWSS . Photo / File

All Central Hawke's Bay ratepayers could face a $47 rates hike if their council signs them up to the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.

Yesterday, under public exclusion, CHB District councillors voted unanimously to enter into a water user agreement to take water from the RWSS for urban supply, subject to further due diligence and public consultation.

If the water buy does go ahead, mayor Peter Butler said CHBDC will purchase 1.5 million cubic metres of water from the scheme every year.

For this, each ratepayer will be charged $46.80 per year, whether or not they currently pay for water.

Currently those who do pay for water pay $644 per year per household. CHBDC chief executive John Freeman said this calculation was based on the cost of council operations and its loan repayments.

The CHBDC said the reason every ratepayer would pay for water is because it was recognised that the taking of water from the scheme is of district-wide economic benefit and it had decided it would be funded on a Uniform Annual Charge basis.

Mr Freeman said it was essentially about "growing the district".

As such, the estimated cost to ratepayers will be 90 cents per week, or equivalent to a cup of coffee a month.

"One of the most important roles of Council is to look to the future of our district, how the district will grow and what infrastructure and services do we as a council need to have in place to allow for this growth.

"Essential for growth is the availability of sufficient and sustainable urban water."

The CHBDC said that using stored water to supplement urban supply for Waipukurau and Waipawa had significant environmental and ecological benefits for our region, resulting in increased river flows as the towns would no longer be sourcing water from the rivers at times of low flow.

Taking water from RWSS for urban supply would enable new businesses, employment opportunities, bring new residents to CHB and expand the water network.

Mr Butler said: "There are high manganese levels in the current water supply for Takapau. RWSS water would solve this problem.

"Water for Otane is currently supplied from Waipawa and is limited by the size of the pipe between the two towns.

"Sourcing water from RWSS will allow for growth in Otane, made possible by the irrigation scheme coming to the area," Mr Butler said.