Protectors of river hit back at bid
The protectors of Waikato River have come out swinging in response to Auckland’s bid for more of its water.
Auckland Council wants to more than double what it can take from the river, and this week made a move to have the consent fasttracked amidst a severe drought.
Local government leaders and iwi have already fired shots over the bid.
Now the Waikato River Authority says Watercare is ‘‘running rough-shod over the [river’s] interests’’, and Watercare says it’s disappointed with the comments.
Auckland’s record-breaking drought has already prompted Watercare to use emergency powers to draw an extra 15 million litres of water a day from the river.
But Waikato River Authority iwi co-chair Roger Pikia said those provisions aren’t for problems which build up over time.
‘‘Auckland has known that it has storage capacity issues and has known that for more than 40 years. So it isn’t something that’s just crept up overnight.
‘‘I think that what Auckland ratepayers are attempting to avoid here is to invest their own ratepayer money in infrastructure.
‘‘They see as a much cheaper option taking water from a completely different catchment.’’
The authority is an independent voice for the river, charged with ensuring its health, and has invested $50 million into projects to benefit the awa.
Watercare disagreed with many of the authority’s points, a statement said.
The council-controlled organisation has no plans to build more water storage dams in Auckland, but has earmarked $57.5m to reinstate the Hays Creek Dam in Papakura.
It has signed off an urgent upgrade of the Onehunga Water Treatment Plant and will bring back a bore in Pukekohe.
The contentious fast-track move relates to Watercare’s bid for an extra 200 million litres a day of Waikato River water, originally filed in 2013.
Now it is trying to have it heard faster, under Covid-19 Recovery legislation, with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff saying ‘‘we simply want to have our consent heard without having to wait 17 years’’.
The city is in the grip of a severe drought and likely to have water restrictions for up to a year, prompting questions about whether it has outgrown its water supply.
That’s not Covid-related, Pikia said.
Consultation is another point of contention.
Dylan Tahau, a Crown appointee to the river authority, said members heard about Watercare’s latest moves through its public relations campaign.
The group has now applied for information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA).
Auckland has made a ‘‘negligible’’ contribution in the 25 years it’s been taking water from the river – and discharged wastewater into the river at Pukekohe.
‘‘We see that as a bit of a hard pill to swallow: when you take good water and then you return your wastewater,’’ Pikia said.
He was also concerned about Auckland’s bid pushing out local projects waiting in line, and potential impacts on river health, such as erosion, and seawater further up the river.
Watercare disagreed with many of the points made by the river authority, a statement said.
Since 2011, it had contributed $266,000 to Waikato RiverCare – a charitable trust which carries out riparian planting along the river to improve water quality.
Watercare would not comment further, a statement said.