Local Water Done Well
- NZ Empowered
- Jan 10
- 24 min read
Updated: Jul 10
Click on the blue underlined words to go to the links.
Local Water Done Well (LWDW)
Recent Update on the Local Water Done Well and other Water Information:
Voices and views on Local Water Done Well should be sent through to your council and to Ministers to get your views heard.
We assume most cities in the Wellington region will have Local Water Done Well changes affect them by September 2025. This is when final decisions on delivery models will be made by councils. Other areas in New Zealand may also be affected and be going through similar processes. Consultation for Upper Hutt is expected in March/April 2025, and we suspect other areas will be similar.
We are two people following as much as we can, and focusing mostly on Upper Hutt City Council. But we assume that other cities are in a similar position. Hence we don't have information on other regions around New Zealand. But are always eager to gather information and share it.
We are not for or against any options but are wanting fair consultations on viable options, understanding if communities voices, views, ideas and input are being accepted and considered, and ultimately the best use of the resources available to tackle Wellington's Water woes. e.g. water, funds etc. Or is it like many community consultations, where it seems like the decision has already been predetermined. e.g. like UHCC where the current 2 options seem to be one and the same.
30th June 2025
Major take away from the 30th June 2025 council meeting is that "the water services charges modelled for the draft plan are currently projected to be 3.3% of the projected median household income by 2034".
There is no statement of what the "Median Household Income" is, either now, or in 2034.
Item 68 on page 13 of the Council Agenda highlights this.
So we got "Median Household Income" data for Wellington from MBIE from 2016-2024 and have forecast the increases through to 2034.
Cutting to the chase. Based on the forecast numbers based on the MBIE data the cost of water in 2034 based on the NZ Median Household Wage would be:
$7070.91 Per Year
$135.98 Per Week
$19.43 Per Day
The results from this are below..
So we need to put pen to paper as the old saying goes. We would recommend sending submissions through to:
From the Council meeting it looks like they are confused also as they contradicted each other on inital charging.
8:15 - Liezel Jahnke - For the first 3 years of the plan charges will be at the incoming councils LTP
9:15 - Kate Thomson - First water charges will be eq of yr 1-3 of the 2024-2034 LTP.
(As already the water costs in this years rates are over the 26/27 LTP numbers - See the Spreadsheet.)
This contradicts what Liezel Jahnke stated that its the first 3 years of the incoming councils LTP which would be the 2027-2037 LTP
14:35 - Kate Thomson - States that she can't say when yr 3 will hit due to other councils going early.
26th May 2025
DISCONNECT?? You will still be charged 50% within 100m of a water supply.
It has been highlighted that as part of the Long Term Plan (LTP) in 2024 a clause has been added around water charges if a property is within 100m of supplied water.
A serviced property is one supplied with water and the rate is assessed per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit. If a property can be but is not supplied with water (meaning it is situated within 100 metres of any part of the water works) it is considered serviceable and 50% of the serviced charge will apply per rating unit.
11th Apr 2025
Community Information pages for more understanding on Upper Hutt's Annual Plan and other info.
Indicative per connection costs of Local Water Done Well
We are concerned that Water Done Well costs for our community are not being shared transparently.
As with the rates we believe people may again be hit from left field with massive cost increases and not have had time to budget for these costs.
Starting at around $7 Per day/$50 Per Week!!!!!!
We have been to quite a few “Annual Plan” meetings and spoken to people where a common theme is that people would like to know what the indicative prices would/could be.
The answers we have heard amount to, no we don’t have that information at present.
We believe there is a better understanding known by councils than they are sharing.
In the Annual Plan there are graphs showing indicative Rates Revenue, a graph showing Indicative Average Water Charges per connection, these graphs must come from base figures. Pg 29-30.
There is a report from Scott Consulting from October 2024 which highlights indicative costs.
We are going to share a few, we think, relevant pieces of information we have taken from the Oct 2024 Scott Consulting report. If you want to know more, we have linked the report or alternatively we have 2 council members who sit on the water committees who you can direct questions too. (Wayne Guppy and Dylan Bentley)
1. Average price per connection
Currently the average price per connection across the Wellington Region in 2024 is $1,711. ($32.90 per week)
Could be up to twice current prices or a peak of about $3,000 to $4,000. ($57.70- $76.90 per week)
Sustainable price is estimated at about $2,596 ($49.90 per week)
Price rises could be up to 9% per annum on average
What are the actual lending limits for the new Water Organisation?
2. What are the actual lending limits for the new Water Organisation?
Up to a level equivalent to 500% of operating revenues however depending on operational funds this could be less.
3. With Upper Hutt Council handing over water assets to the new CCO (Council Controlled Organisation) is any associated debt also being handed to the new CCO?
It has been assumed that the CCO will inherit about $2.3 billion of debt in 2027 from the councils. This is because when water assets transfer, so would the associated revenue collection powers and associated debt.
As Reference
Here is what we have found on how it works in Auckland, probably closely aligns with how it might work down here also..
4th Mar 2025
Wellington Water and Upper Hutt City Council have released statements regarding the state of Wellington Water.
We understand that for many years Upper Hutt City Council has been pushing back on Wellington Water and its management of the funds and infrastructure. Wellington Water still pushed ahead with what they were doing in spite of the council's opposition. But before the Upper Hutt Council blow their trumpet too much, they have also done the same.
Case in point is the recent vote on consultation options for Local Water Done Well on the 12th Feb 2025. During this meeting the CEO gave an account of the situation and highlighted that there were massive gaps in the knowledge and information. There were many issues bought up by councillors and even before the meeting by members of the public.
A Councillor even raised about errors which were on the website for the public to digest.
Yet, in the meeting, regardless of process or procedure, there seemed to be many issues and questions unanswered the vote still went ahead.
On top of this, when listening back to the vote it seemed not all councillors voted, yay or nay. So did they abstain? Was the vote predetermined, were there influences at play?
We have also noticed that the council has clipped the end of the meeting.
Original Video at 26:10 in this clip the Mayor asks why is everyone so quiet. Seems very much like the vote wasn't what the council wanted. Here is the Clipped Video on the councils YouTube site without the mayors question.
It is great that Wellington Water have finally come out and said they need to improve but if Upper Hutt City Council think they can blow their trumpet over it, it seems like a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black as it is also folding and not having a backbone. Cr Carson, last year, stated that both options which were being put forward for consultation, were the same which was also highlighted by ourselves previously.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360599939/wellington-water-still-after-more-money-despite-damning-reports (PDF)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/543562/wellington-water-report-reveals-alleged-theft-structural-and-contractor-issues? (PDF)
12th Feb 2025
There, was a vote today in council on what council will consult on for Local Water Done Well. Well sort of a vote, it wasn't a very convincing vote.
We have sent an email out to the councils referring to the previous questions we have asked and highlighting our dissapointment with todays meeting and how it and the vote was conducted.
Our mayor, who could not contribute more than a copy/paste of government directives that if council does not decide then they will decide. Even though he is the main representative for the city on Water we don't feel he did not have a lot to contribute.
We feel that other councillors bought up very relevant questions and points to which our council executive teams were not able to answer sufficently. Even Cr Betley highlighted errors which should be removed from the councils website asap, and yet with all these questions and concerns unanswered, our Mayor still undertook a vote when there were still questions not answerred.
The vote confirmed that there would be 2 options to go to consultation.
Option 1 : A Council controlled organisation entity to hand all water and its assets over too.
Option 2 : An enhanced Wellington Water which can own assets and charge for water.
As we raised last year. There were 2 options which are effectively the same and they here they are..
Weather its the government that is dictating or the wabbly backbone of our council we are not sure. But it will be us and our future generations who will be affected by these decisions which will be made with wishy washy information.
Questions to Councils on the 5th Jan 2025
We promised we would add responses received back from our questions to councils on the 5th Jan 2025 ..
On the 11th Feb 2025 received a response from Geoff Swainson (UHCC CEO responses in blue) and have responsed with a few more questions and clarifications.
27th Jan 2025
Earlier in the month we posted about the water loss in the Wellington Water Network. Since then we have seen stats that the current regional water losses are around 41% down from 44%. Wellington Water have confirmed to us that the estimated water loss on the Public side of the Toby is 32% and that the Private side losses are 9%. Wellington Water provided this document which reflects the water losses.
So one has to ask, if the water loss from almost equivelant number of leaks on the private to public sides of the toby is so much different, why is there all of a sudden a focus on private leaks. Seems the number of leaks is not the best metric to be assessing urgency of remediation.
15th Jan 2025
We have had responses from our emailed questions on the 5th Jan 2025. Here are the emails we have received (Other than the stock out of office replies.) We will add others as they are received.
Chris Hipkins Office - Leader of the Opposition.
Mayor Barry's Office - Hutt City Mayor
We are planning on sending an email back to Chris Hipkins office. This is some of the thoughts we will be replying with. If you have other thoughts please feel free to email us.
Our question to this...is does Chris Hipkins not know if we can not get a viable option by September 2025 it will be a Govt matter as the Govt will decide. Another thought is ....Why is Chris interested in the responses if not a Govt matter? He did not want responses to our rates increases issue.....Here is a part in Chris Hipkins email...Example: Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes - NZ Labour Party..
Also, a report from Denton we have seen from Feb 2024 states :
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that there was no guarantee under LWDW that ratepayers would not face higher costs, this being a decision for local councils. Rate hikes (or potentially, direct water charges) seem likely since local councils will have to fork out to set up CCOs, pay to upgrade the infrastructure, and pay back any loans, as central government is not intending to provide funding or underwrite any new borrowing. The extent of savings associated with the previous Affordable Water plan is of course a matter of dispute.
5th Jan 2025
Today we have sent an email with our Voice, Views, Concerns and Questions through to the Wellington Water participating councils, Members of Parliament and Media
27th Dec 2024
2 Options or not 2 options.. That is the Question....
Regardless of which of the 5 cities you are in, this is something that Wellington people need to start thinking about.
From the 11th Dec 2024 Upper Hutt Council Meeting Councillor Carson states (37:08) that the 2 options which Council have put forward are effectively the same.
"It seems to me that, I mean obviously, it says there are two choices one is the Council Control Organisation new CCO which comprises now five councils presumably now that Kapiti and Wairarapa and South Wairarapa have pulled out and the status quo which is Wellington Water "enhanced "...... Basically in my mind we're looking at the same thing." - Cr Carson
How will this provide the Upper Hutt and other communities with viable and distinct options come the time when councils should consult (Mar/Apr 2025). What needs to be kept in mind is if our councils cannot provide a viable and sustainable option then the government will decide for us.
Water Leaks on the private side of the toby's
There has been an RNZ article on the 23rd Dec 2024. In this article it states that there will be more Private leaks than public leaks.
"In fact, there will actually be more, leaks on the private network, which is the house side of the network, that we know of, then there are on the public side."
There are no real statistics in the article above on private leaks and one report of a major private leak was mentioned in Wellington Waters latest report that it was fixed in LH. (See Blurb to HCC (Hutt City Council) Demand Tracker Report)
We are in the process of gathering information to send through in response to this article....and this comment from the article, as Wellington Water do not seem to have provided easily accessible information on this... ( This was included in our recent email to councils and others.
The stats that we have found indicate there is a back and forth between the numbers of public and private leaks and how many are in the backlog. What this doesn't highlight is the severity and how much water is lost from these leaks. e.g. private leaks vs public leak water loss and ultimate costs of repair (Road Closures etc). It comes down to impact and costs vs water lost amongst other things.
Reporting Month | Public Leak Backlog | Private Leak Backlog |
|---|---|---|
August 2024 | 728 | 549 |
September 2024 | 509 | 605 |
October 2024 | 528 | 547 |
November 2024 | 387 | 461 |
December 2024 | 469 | 444 |
January 2024 | 399 | 380 |
February 2024 | 601 | 352 |
March 2025 | 525 | 359 |
April 2025 | 418 | 358 |
It was stated at the meeting on the 13th Dec 2024 with Councils and Wellington Water that there will be a softly approach to raising the discussion around any leaks on the private side of the toby's. This was not able to be done last year as with Wellington Water having thousands of leaks they really didn't have the moral mandate to ask for leaks on the private side of the toby's to be resolved.
"The other thing we're doing is softly and appropriately introducing the discussion around the private leaks. Last year we made it very clear that an entity with many thousands of leaks didn't have much of a mandate, moral mandate, to be very demanding of the consumers on the private leakage and so now we're just introducing that context and we're doing that in a careful way and in full consultation with all the councils to make sure that it's a collective um process."
The only ones we have found are these. Leaks by the Numbers reporting page, and nothing in the current report from Wellington Water on private leaks outstriping public ones. How is this classed? e.g. Litres of water loss? As we suspect due to size of pipes and volume of water, leaks outside private residences would be more likely to lose more water than those on private residences, or number of leaks?, or on how long the private leaks take to fix? None of this is clear of how Wellington Water are justifying this.
Wellington Water claims to be able to fix leaks within 10 days. Tell this to the people in Timberlea where a local resident states that is has been much longer than 10 days to fix the multiple leaks, along with many others that are mentioned on other social media sites such as Wellington Water facebook page or groups.
Some of these leaks are affecting large areas and impact many people and in some cases even costing to reroute public transport. So again we ask how is this impact measured vs private leaks.
Other Interesting links found while looking for information on this article:
23rd Dec 2024
2024/2025 Summer Water Restrictions
On the 13th Dec Wellington Water advised council's the chance of a Water shortage in Summer 24/25.
Water Restriction Level 2 - 5% chance of entering Level 2
Water Restriction Level 3 - 1% chance of entering Level 3
Water Restriction Level 4 - less than 1% chance of entering Level 4.
In early November this article forecast risk of going to Level 2 has gone from 100% last summer to 40% this summer, Level 3 from 70% to 14%, and Level 4 from 33% to 4%.
This reduction is risk is wonderful and as stated in the Water Pipe Renewals below there is work occuring to renew our pipes and the more we can do this the lower the risk of us having higher percentage of water restrictions during summer. See below for more info on Water Pipe Renewals
Water Pipe Renewals
Here is the You Tube video to the meeting on the 13th Dec 2024 at the time they talk about Water Pipe Renewals.
Out of 6100km of water/waste pipe, 24km was replaced in 2023 and 9km in 2024. Contractors have laid staff off due to the lack of work on these renewals.
"We have roughly 6,100 km of water and waste water pipe that we manage on behalf of six councils last year we replaced 24 km of pipe which meant we were aiming for an average replacement age of only 250 years this year we had hoped to replace 9km of pipe which means we're aiming for an average replacement age of 670 years, so is it any wonder the pipes are leaking?"
There was discussion about how long it will take to get the pipes replaced and even how far we fall further behind by not starting an intensive pipe renewal process immediately.
In the Wellington Water 2024-2034 Long Term Plan it states it "estimates approximately 43% of Wellington City’s pipe network assets are due for renewal within the next 30 years (41.2 km per year)" where over the last 2 years there has been 33km renewed in total.
More Local Water Done Well Information -
Councils have till the end of February to make submissions on Bill 3 for Local Water Services.
DIA has provided more information and updated it’s FAQ’s around Local Water Services.
Phase 2 of the development of the Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) is underway by councils with information from Bill 3, and plans for consultation in Mar/April are underway.
From our perspective this seems like that there will be a one size fits all and the councils will be taking the lead from this work and rolling out the consultation from this which may not have any account for local public input or knowledge.
In effect, Wellington Water is formulating the options for the participating councils and formulating the consultation information and packages for them.
Our question, what will the word consultation mean?
Water Meters
Water Meters will not fix water leaks or replace aged pipes!
We are aware that Mayor Wayne Guppy and the Upper Hutt Council are against water meters and we believe that he was requested to raise at the 13th Dec 2024 Wellington Water meeting that Upper Hutt is against Water Meters and that costs to investigate and implement these should be bourne by the new entity implemented. From what we can see from the meeting video this did not occur.
It has been stated that the installation of water meters on residential dwellings in Upper Hutt will come in at $35m plus. Below is a table which shows what each council would be costing and as a region overall based on the Upper Hutt dwelling numbers and cost to install.
Households | $2,079 per meter install | |
|---|---|---|
Upper Hutt | 16,833 | $ 35,000,000 |
Porirua | 18,930 | $ 39,360,185 |
Kapiti Coast | 25,465 | $ 52,948,078 |
Hutt City | 39,678 | $ 82,500,446 |
Wellington City | 81,003 | $ 168,425,414 |
Carterton | 4,188 | $ 8,707,895 |
South Wairarapa | 5,844 | $ 12,151,132 |
Masterton | 11,472 | $ 23,853,146 |
Greater Wellington Regional | 203,413 | $ 422,946,296 |
Overall to install water meters in all the above councils it would come to around $423m and as was stated at the 13th Dec Wellington Water Meeting.
"To roll out meters to our region we'll have to have a meter installed once every four minutes for five years over a working year so it's it's a massive undertaking and and not only that we also have the technology to support it which is which is which is a big thing."
17th Dec 2024
The Upper Hutt Connection has a recent update on Upper Hutt's pathway for Local Water Done well..
Even with this decision and prefered option our Council has indicated not easy to understand and they have areas they are not clear on...
We believe at this point there is not enough clear information yet for a consultation...we would encourage if you think similar give Council this feedback.
Click the email envelope if you wish to email all Upper Hutt Council Members
12th Dec 2024
Water, Water, Water. Water everywhere.
You may or may not know in September 2025 our Council is required to provide to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) an option for Upper Hutt to provide sustainable water for our City. To do this council is working through options for our city. In early 2025 we have been told that our Council will be consulting with the community on options for the city. What form this consultation or the options being put forward are, as we understand it, are still not fully formed so we will await more information.
In the meantime we are trying to keep up with the information which is coming from the council. That being so, here is our rundown of discussions about Local Water Done Well at the council meeting on the 11th December 2024.
This is what items we found pertinent from the meeting . There may be others which we have missed as we are not perfect.. So here is the video of the entire meeting if you wish to watch it.
We do not obviously understand everything as the council does not either. Our hope is that council will share as much information as it can and work with the community to make the best decision for our City. We do not have any personal preferences at the moment as without all pieces of the puzzle it is hard to gauge what will be the best.
Local Water Done Well is the National Governments replacement for Three Waters. It is intended that councils around New Zealand will band together, create uber water entities and be able to fund the repair and maintenance of the ailing water infrastructure in NZ. Whether this be through revenue or through debt.
As part of community involvement we are submitting thoughts and ideas to council. Today we submitted information and options for them to consider when looking into Local Water Done Well and how Upper Hutt will suppy and charge for water.
We have even had one councillor state that "going it alone is not an option" and"The options we will present is either the status quo alongside a joint venture which is being investigated now" . So the question is what is the joint venture option and when will the public see any details? Also, the Status Quo, in the councils own admission is "not an acceptable model for the future to meet legislative requirements of the new government policy. Significant changes would need to be made to the Wellington Water model"
Click HERE to see what we have sent to council.
Click the email envelope if you wish to email all Upper Hutt Council Members
Here in Upper Hutt the council states that the average consumption of drinking water in litres per day, per resident in Upper Hutt being 415L, and if the estimates are correct that there is 52% water loss through leaks and then if we were to remove business usage then you would have to say that the actual usage per resident in Upper Hutt is closer to the world average of 173L and the NZ average of 229L per person per day.
There are industries which are also high water users and are an indication only. As an example :
Craft breweries use 10 litres of water per litre of beer,
Mainstream breweries use 4–5 litres of water per litre of beer.
Bottlers like Coca-Cola uses 1.97 litres of water to produce one litre of their beverages.
When checking into how businesses in Upper Hutt pay for water we found it was through their rates which are based on the property's value and use. If we are headed down the metering route, maybe water metering businesses initially would be a prudent plan to understand their water usage?
Even if we took into consideration the reduction of 2% stated in this report "the estimated annual average water loss on the metropolitan public network for FY23/24 is 32% down 2% from FY22/23 (34%)." then we assume this is fair for us to assume that the estimated water loss for Upper Hutt still sits at 50%.
How can ratepayers be asked to be pay for this additional water? Especially if the majority of this is being lost through ill-maintained water services.
If a simplistic view was taken and the Water Levy on Upper Hutt rates bill was halved, then that would reduce everyone's Rates by $289.66 which if there is an assumed 16,533 residential dwellings in Upper Hutt it would amount to $4,788,948 Per Annum ($4.78m). This is, in a very crude way, what Upper Hutt Residents are paying per year to watch our precious managed and treated water resources leak into the ground.
Other than fixing the leaks, which is obviously a priority, there needs to be thought into other ways we can save or use other water sources which minimises the impact on our managed and treated water supplies.
A wise Upper Hutt water advocate shared their views with us recently and we agree. Ultimately fixes for the water situation need to be in a staged manner with the end outcome to reduce water usage and improve the health of Te Awa Kairangi (Hutt River).
Fix the leaks first then re-measure usage.
Then install rainwater harvesting systems with tanks for toilet flushing and gardens.
Then re-measure usage.
Then install water meters when there's more money around so that the water users can better manage their own water resources.
Click the email envelope to email all Upper Hutt Council Members
Local Water Done Well Consultation Loopholes
It is concerning that there were outs in the DIA guidelines for councils to not have to consult about Local Water Done Well plans with their communities. It is encouraging that Hellen is pushing within council for Community Hui and information sessions on Local Water Done Well to inform the community of information, plans and directions relating to Local Water Done Well and the options Upper Hutt has.
Local Water Done Well Information
We all need to start to work together on a plan for Upper Hutt. If there is no plan submitted in September 2025 then Central Government will appoint a commissioner and impose a plan one on us.
This Porirua site is relevant to all local councils and a wealth of information
Upper Hutt Council information
Masterton information
Local Water Done Well FAQ sheet are released fortnightly by DIA on Local Water Done Well and can be found at the bottom of the DIA Local Water Done Well Site linked below.
Here is DIA's FAQ document
Information that Council’s may use to guide them through the next 12 months of Local Water Done Well provided by Russell McVeagh (Commercial Law Firm)
Russell McVeagh Local Water Done Well Timeline
It was highlighted that the phrase “In Principle” will be used a lot more within government and councils in the future.
Hellen has been pushing within council for Community Hui and information sessions on Local Water Done Well to inform the community of information, plans and directions relating to Local Water Done Well and the options Upper Hutt has.
Paul F raised that it was concerning that there were outs for councils to not have to consult about Local Water Done Well plans with their communities. But it was encouraging that Hellen was pushing for Upper Hutt Council to inform and hopefully consult with the community.
One very good point was, what do we own what do we share?
We don’t own Waste treatment,
We don’t own Water assets (Twin Lakes)
Upper Hutt is home to the 'twin lakes'/ Te Marua water storage and treatment plant that supplies water to Upper Hutt, Porirua, parts of Lower Hutt, and the western suburbs of Wellington City.
Here is a YouTube video from South Wairarapa explaining Local Water Done Well
Ultimately there is many ways the councils around the region could go. Wairarapa could all be one, Kapiti and Horowhenua could go with Horizons Regional Council along with Palmerston North, or Wellington Council could go it alone. These are all options which the councils around the region are assessing. If any council goes it alone the costs for ratepayers would be very high.
Here is an excerpt from Councillor Connelly (Greater Wellington Regional Council) provided by Hellen.
Greater Wellington Regional councillor Ros Connelly said the region’s households paid an average of $1711 a year for three waters – tap, waste and storm – via rates but 50 or more years of underinvestment had left the region in a parlous state. A proposed new regional entity, given government powers to borrow more to fix and replace pipes, would charge per-household for water usage. That would be capped at $3000 to $4000 a year, for each household including renters. $4000 a year equates to $333 per month. The region’s water infrastructure was in such a poor state we were approaching “network fault runaway” – when more was being spent on fixes than the cost of replacing, she said.
By Sept 2025 UHCC needs to come up with our city’s plan of what we are doing and with who!
The next Upper Hutt Council Risk and Assurance Meeting will have an update of Standards and Poor’s rating. At the moment we are on the cheapest repayment rate for any council.
It has been suggested that the attendees write to Mayor and copy in all council members stating that we as a community want to be informed and be able to be kept up to date with thinking, plans, options and decisions around Upper Hutt’s Local Water Done Well decisions.
It was suggested that a template letter could be created for all to use to email to the council.
- Mary Beth would like to see some modelling on wastewater/storm water.
- Kate suggested that there is also Kapiti council who have wastewater/stormwater strategies which can been looked at as possible candidates to adopt.
- Paul B asked, have Wellington Water or anyone done any modelling on going alone or going with others? - The answer was, there have been modelling done from Wellington Water. However, the Local Government Minister wasn’t happy so is also doing his own modelling..
- There was a recommendation that there be an action point on all attendees to consider sending a letter into Wayne etc about the consultation and expectations of the community.
- Christine asked, Is the amalgamation of Water the start of amalgamation of councils? The answer was a simple, "It could be".
- Roz initiated discussion about the council imposing a line where UHCC does not supply water services too. Maybe a height line or a boundary around the city.
Concerns over 6th November 2024 Council Report.
If you are worried about our high rates, debt levels and credit ratings, have a look at this
Having a read of the agenda for this Wednesdays council meeting where there is an update on Local Water Done Well, there is a few areas of concern. (We haven't gone through everything as time is limited)
1.
86.... councils are not separately required to consult on the proposed amendment to the LTP, if they have already consulted its community in relation to the proposal, are satisfied that their community has a good understanding of the implications of the proposal and that elected members are satisfied that they understand the community’s views on the proposal.
Our question is: How is this good community understanding quantified? Seems very subjective.
2.
There is a lot of use of the term “In Principle”. From the hoopla that came about regarding the letter which Wayne and Geoff send to the ministers regarding Guildford Silverstream development, it seems that this is the new we agree but we have an ace card to change if we want. Gives the community the impression it may not be the case but in actual fact it most likely will be.. Seems like it doesn’t seem to have defined boundaries.
We have an eail from within council stating that "In Principle" is a legal term and we are hopeful that Geoff Swainson will follow through on his promise to deliver a Glossary of Terms to help with the understanding of council terms.
It will be great to see these when they are complete.
3.
96. There would be access to a higher level of debt. LGFA lending to the water CCO would be capped at 500%
WOW.. 500% cap of debt.. This is concerning as with the S&P downgrade this type of Debt will potentially cost the city more in debt repayments. Also the question has to be asked, 500% of what? UHCC revenue? Or the CCO revenue or all involved councils revenue combined.. These are BIIIG and concerning numbers.
If you are concerned about these or any other areas you may have read in the council agenda from this page you can click on the blue envelope and email all the the councillors/mayor and CEO with your concerns.
Click the email envelope to email all Upper Hutt Council Members
Water Usage and Water Saving Information.
Some common water usages around the home:
Garden hose: A typical garden hose uses around 30 litres of water per minute.
Water blaster: Water blasters typically use between 5 and 7.3 litres of water per minute. This means that water blasters can use up to 80% less water than a hose.
Shower: The average shower uses around 12 to 16 litres of water per minute:
Shower length: A 5-minute shower uses about 75–90 litres of water, while a 10-minute shower uses about 160 litres, and a 15-minute shower uses about 240 litres.
Showerhead: A 3-star WELS rated showerhead uses about 8.5 litres per minute. Some showerheads use around 8–9 litres per minute.
Standard cistern Toilet: Uses about 6 to 9 litres per flush
Dual flush: Uses 6 litres for a full flush and 3 litres for a half flush
Water saving Tips
Shower length: A 5-minute shower uses about 75–90 litres of water, while a 10-minute shower uses about 160 litres, and a 15-minute shower uses about 240 litres.
Showerhead: A 3-star WELS rated showerhead uses about 8.5 litres per minute. Some showerheads use around 8–9 litres per minute.
Power showers: Power showers use more water than standard showers.
Take shorter showers Saving a minute from your shower time can save a household of four people about $100 per year.
Install a flow-saver disc You can fit a flow-saver disc to your existing shower to reduce the flow to a specified rate.
Measure your flow rate If your shower fills a 10-litre bucket in less than a minute, it's wasting water.
Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth
Water displacement device: Cuts the amount of water used by one or two liters per flush
Variable flushing device: Allows you to choose different flush volumes
Replace an old cistern with a modern dual-flush one
Adjust the float ball to reduce the amount of water in the cistern
Ensure the cistern supply shuts off fully when not in use
Choose a water-saving, low-flush, or dual-flush toilet when buying a new one
