Opinion: Why do Christchurch homeowners need to be charged for using water?

Christchurch residents could be charged for using excess water over the summer. Photo / Supplied

OPINION

There are thirty-one days left until the days of free water are over for residents in Christchurch, including me.

What has previously been a 'given' is no longer. User-pays it is.

It is ironic that we have had so much rainfall this year, the groundwater and aquifers are swimming in the stuff, that we could still be charged.

Christchurch has long been held up as the 'Garden City'.

Springtime in Christchurch's garden city. Photo / Hamish Clark

The freedom of turning on the hose or sprinkler for as long as you like enhanced our green, garden image.

Nowhere else in the country will you find gardens like those in Christchurch.

Nowhere else in the country will see manicured lawns - even along the kerbside like in Christchurch.

Residents here are proud of their flower beds, besotted with their lawns, mowing and weeding them to within an inch of perfection.

But, those days could be over.

From October 1, Christchurch households that use large amounts of water will be charged.

The reason? The cost to supply it to residents or should that be consumers.

I love my lawn, it is big and green. I love watering it and making it even greener and lush. But even I will have to cut back on the water.

From next month all property owners in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula will pay $1.35 for every 1000 litres we use over the 700 litres a day limit.

Now you would think 700 litres a day is a lot - but factor in showers, toilets, washing etc, there is almost nothing left to water the garden or lawn.

Water meters outside the front gate will tick over the litres used, the council will monitor them closely, and homeowners like me will check it each week to try and stay within the limits.

Pauline Cotter, Chair of the Council's Three Waters, Infrastructure and Environment Committee, said that under the scheme, it is "only fair" that property owners who regularly use significantly more water than the average household will contribute to the cost of supplying that extra water.

And that they are putting a heavy burden on parts of the water supply network mostly over summer.

What is in it for the Christchurch City Council? More money in the coffers.

It is expected that 20,000 - 30,000 properties will be charged extra, and that will bring in an additional $2 million in revenue in the first year.

So where does that leave me and my lawn for the summer?

I will be monitoring my water usage, well aware of what charges I could face.

The grass will hopefully stay green and the trees and plants won't die in the hot summer sun.

I won't like getting a bill from the council if one arrives for keeping up my part in the garden city image.

After having been lucky to have a lifetime of the best water in the world for free, with no fear of being charged, it is going to be a very strange, and different summer with every turn of the tap.

Will the days of the lush green grass be confined to days of the past?