Water is our most precious resource above anything else—while about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water…less than 1 percent is available for human use.
“No water no life” is the bottom line and increasing numbers of cities around the world have a water crisis due to climate change.
The Pressure on our Canterbury river systems and aquifers is enormous and past the limit point of what can be safely extracted while maintaining sustainable environmental flows.
According to the stats the average daily household water use in Christchurch is equivalent to about seven baths per day, whereas the top 20 per cent of households use at least 11 baths per day, and some significantly more, therefore 20 per cent of households use half of the total residential water supplied to the city.
Where a property owner uses significantly more water than the average household, the Council proposes they contribute to the cost of supplying that extra water. Surveys show most ratepayers are in favour of this and aware we cannot continue without some sort of control.
Currently residential property owners pay for an allocated water supply using a targeted rate based on the rateable value of their property, but nowhere costing close to the average $1200 per Auckland householder.
(Commercial users also pay a targeted rate, but then pay an additional water charge – at a rate of $1.05 per 1,000 litres – if they exceed their allocation covered by their rates).
The Council’s proposed excess water charge would apply to those households using more than 333,000 litres per year (915 litres per day) well above their rates-based allocation.
In Christchurch, the average yearly household water use is 197,100 litres – the highest of all the larger cities in New Zealand (and that is still below the 255,500 limit before getting into excess water territory).
Summertime household water consumption in Christchurch is approximately double that in winter, mostly due to people watering their lawns and gardens with unattended sprinklers and irrigation systems.
Last summer the city recorded its highest single-day water use in a decade – an average of 1,324 litres per household, nearly double the daily allowance… our infrastructure and water supply cannot cope with excessive demands like this.
In summary:
- Residential property owners will pay a fixed rate of $1.35 for every 1000 litres they use over the daily limit of 700 litres (roughly equivalent to 100 toilet flushes), however until the figure exceeds $25 no charge will be made, and you would have to be using $915 litres per day or 330,000 litres per year to receive a three-month bill.
- Most of the excess water use is from underground leaks (see 12 below) and irrigation, therefore the average user and garden grower are unlikely to be effected, but the days of just leaving the sprinklers on and going out, are gone.
- We must conserve water now, and homeowners are being asked to be more prudent about use and utilise the tools to stay within allowable limits.
- Letters have been sent to the city’s top water users, ahead of the measures coming into place, to encourage them to check for leaks.
- Other centres around the country saw water use drop by 20 to 30 percent when similar charges were introduced.
- Over time, fewer properties will be affected if high-use households reduce their water use.
- The targeted rating scheme aimed at helping manage the demand for water will now come into effect on 1 October 2022.
8 Residents will not get charged until their bill goes above $25 and their average usage above 900 litres a day.
9 The first invoices will be sent out in January. Most households are average water users and won’t use enough to receive an excess water invoice.
10 The Council will invoice you for any excess water use on a quarterly basis (roughly every 90 days).
11 Generally, the property owner, or person who receives the property’s rates invoice, will also receive the excess water supply invoice.
12 You can check for leaks by checking the water meter outside your house and if the right-hand figures are still moving around yet no water is being used in the house at that time, you have a leak somewhere and with over 3,000km of connecting pipes there will be.
13 Check this hand check link below for your address to see were you sit with water usage.
https://www.ccc.govt.nz/…/water-supply/water-reporter/
Overall the actual cost of going over your limit is ridiculously low at $1.35 for 1000 litres (about the same price of one litre from the local dairy).