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Andy Foster — Vote #1 for Council |
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ONSLOW-WESTERN |
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Press Release |
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There are two big red herrings some politicians are cynically raising to frighten people. Sadly some of them are councillors who should know a lot better. Maybe they think it is good politics to be able to fight against something that isn’t being proposed, nor likely to be. It isn’t – it is just cynical. So what actually is happening with our water ? Increased population is placing pressure on water supply. 1 - population growth is placing pressure on water storage capacity. All the Councils of the region understand that we need to encourage conservation of water precisely to avoid the need for expensive and environmentally damaging dams, or expensive and socially unattractive water meters. Every year that we can put off a $150 million dam is a saving of almost $10 million in interest alone. Greater Wellington now seems to be considering new off river storage lakes, like the existing Stuart Macaskill (Te Marua) lakes. A cost of $80 million has been mentioned. Meters aren't much less expensive and of course don't actually increase water storage. So a lot of work is being done on developing a package of ideas for residents and businesses to consider what the most effective measures to avoid dams or meters would be. The other element is asking people whether they would be happy to have more frequent occasions when there are restrictions on garden sprinklers and hosing in summer. That dialogue will start over the next few months. 2 - In the same vein it is vital that we deal with those 'leaky pipes'. Some commentators have said Wellington City Council has failed until recently to make any inroads into stemming relatively high leaks. Completely wrong ! Unaccounted for water, (which includes leaks on public - and private - pipes, flushing the system, fire service use, unmetered parks and gardens use, and 7 or 8 other items) has dropped from 26% five years ago to 15.6% now. That's a saving of 3,350 megalitres (million litres) per year, enough by my calculation to fill 8800 25 metre swimming pools, or provide water for 9000 families of 4 for a year. That's a result of a solid asset management plan (progressively replacing old pipes), a much more active leak detection programme, telemetry computer systems and installing more and more area meters so it is easier to locate leaks, as well as pressure reduction in some areas. Saving this water helps a lot in the regional water supply equation. Without those savings we'd be a lot closer to having to make decisions on dams, water meters or water restrictions. It also saves real dollars. Even though 90% of water costs are fixed in the short term regardless of level of water used (that's the costs of pipes, treatment systems, water reservoirs, pumps etc) the saving on the other 10% (energy and treatment chemicals) is worth around $250,000 a year. 3 – Then there is Central Government’s thinking. All the Councils in the Wellington region are working on regional governance. Unlike Auckland where the Prime Minister said inter-council relationships were disfunctional, Wellington region's Councils generally work pretty well together. There are real potential benefits from 'shared services' (ie working together) Areas such as IT, rates collection, library IT, and water are major opportunities. The logic of the four cities (Wellington, Porirua, and the two Hutt Valley cities) and Greater Wellington working closer together, is compelling. GW currently supplies bulk water to the other four. Obviously the governance arrangements for a 5 Council entity would need to be worked through. I would expect Councils to retain the assets rather than place them in a single entity (stops any fear of privatisation) and to retain control of decisions about how water is funded, and likely the level of investment in water services. 4 – Finally what about Capacity itself ? Completely at odds to some media commentary it has been a success, despite a challenging start. In the last three years: · Upper Hutt has joined Hutt and Wellington. · It is true that savings achieved in the first 5 years were less than the $4.2 million the Councils predicted in establishing Capacity, but still $1.9 million was saved in operating costs. · In the year just completed (2009/10) another $400,000 was saved. · Next year over $700,000 is expected to be saved, from improved processes, and replacing consultant designers with our own design team. · Unaccounted for water is down 10% as noted in 2 above. · Around another $30 million has been saved in capital expenditure. · All KPIs within the company's control are being met. · Asset management planning is very highly regarded. |
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11 July 2009 Capacity a Success in Managing our Water |
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Capacity is jointly owned by Wellington and Hutt City Councils. It was established in 2004. Capacity manages water stormwater, and some sewage services (the ‘three waters’) for Hutt and Wellington Councils, and from July 2008 also for Upper Hutt. I became a director of Capacity after the 2007 election. At that stage it was clear that there were concerns about performance, and the relationships between board members, including 2 councillors each from each of Hutt and Wellington councillors. The 3 waters are the most vital services Councils provide. I’m going to focus here purely on water and on the overall performance of Capacity over the last three years when I’ve been on the Board.
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