Local Water Done Well (LWDW)
Recent Update on the Local Water Done Well
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