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Local Government Minister Simeon Brown called Wellington Water into his office before Christmas with concerns about the region’s looming water shortage crisis.
Brown told the Herald he was concerned about Wellington’s water supply challenges and was receiving regular updates from water services regulator Taumata Arowai, which is monitoring the situation closely.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says he's concerned about Wellington’s water supply challenges. Photo / Alex Cairns
He requested a meeting with Wellington Water shortly after becoming a minister and met Wellington Water committee chairman Campbell Barry, board chairman Nick Leggett, and his management team on December 13.
“My expectation is that councils in the region will work together via Wellington Water to address the possible water shortage. This includes actively considering how to fix leakage issues, increasing supply, and how the short- and medium-term activity will be funded.”
After the meeting and before the summer break, Brown wrote to Barry to request further information on what actions councils were taking to address the shortage as well as leaks.
Brown said he also asked about future plans to ensure local authorities were better equipped to deal with similar challenges and pre-emptively mitigate risks.
As of Wednesday night, Brown was still waiting to receive a response.
More water could be drawn from Hutt River to avoid crisis
Brown said Taumata Arowai has powers under the Water Services Act to declare a drinking water emergency if there is a significant risk to public health.
Emergency powers could be used to draw more water from the Hutt River to avoid a water shortage crisis in Wellington.
Brown said he must be consulted as part of this process.
“In line with my previous discussions with Wellington Water, I would expect local authorities to be looking at all options to ensure they are able to put short-term measures in place and pre-emptively mitigate future risks and challenges of a critical water supply shortage in the region.”
Yesterday the Herald revealed Wellington Water had approached Taumata Arowai about whether the regulator would be prepared to declare the emergency and enable more water to be drawn.
Taumata Arowai’s view is the repeated declarations of drinking water emergencies were not a sustainable approach.
Furthermore, in a letter written to Wellington Water on December 22, Taumata Arowai head of regulatory Steven Taylor said he was concerned other options to reduce the risk of running out of water may have been “dismissed too readily, or that other reasonably available options have not been sufficiently canvassed”.
Wellington Water’s risk-modelling was updated yesterday showing the chance of needing to move to Level 3 restrictions this summer has reduced from 76 per cent to 60 per cent.
The Government will introduce and pass legislation early this year repealing Labour’s plan to take water assets off councils and merge them into 10 mega entities owned by councils but ultimately co-governed by councils and mana whenua through a complicated governance structure.
Instead, the Government wants to restore council ownership and control but set strict rules for water quality and investment in infrastructure.
“We’ve listened to calls from mayors around the country for swift action and clarity,” Brown has said previously.
“Specific provisions in the Bill will address the immediate challenges faced by councils who are currently preparing their 2024-2034 long-term plans under the previous government’s settings, by providing flexibility in setting plans.”
Kāpiti boasts of restriction-free summer
Kāpiti Coast District Council issued a statement yesterday boasting that its residents were enjoying a water restriction-free summer thanks to sound investment in the area’s water infrastructure and water metering.
The council introduced meters in 2014 and, within 18 months, peak day consumption decreased by about 26 per cent.
In that same time period, 443 leaks were found and 97 per cent of them were fixed.
Infrastructure Services Group Manager Sean Mallon said meters and other investments have meant there is enough water to manage long dry conditions.
Construction is also underway at the site of a new water reservoir in Ōtaki which will improve resilience.
“That being said, we continue to encourage people to use water wisely and to have an emergency water supply on hand should a natural hazard/disaster disrupt our systems,” Mallon said.
“We recommend households have an emergency supply of at least 20 litres of water per person, per day for seven days (140L per person).”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
