Shared water bills ‘not fair’
A single New Plymouth pensioner who shares his water with two other flats says he is making a stand for those who will be charged on shared water meters.
It was revealed this week that New Plymouth’s new $18 million water metering scheme will see thousands of residents on crosslease sections and flats sharing their bills with their neighbours, no matter how much they use.
Peter Hoskin, who has lived in the same Carrington St flat since 1981, said there were thousands of people like him who stood to pay for more than what they used, which was not fair.
He said he received a letter from the New Plymouth District Council about the installation of water meters about two months ago and a water meter was installed a month later.
‘‘Then they came and put the water meter in at the end of the driveway and I said, ‘what about one for me?’ And they didn’t know anything about it.’’ He then found out he would be sharing his water meter with two other flats.
As a single occupant, who doesn’t use much water, Hoskin said he was worried he could be left out of pocket if his neighbours used more water than him.
He had been to see a plumber to work out the cost of getting his own water meter installed but was told it could be about $500, which Hoskin said would take a long time to save for on his pension.
He had also been in contact with New Plymouth MP Glen Bennett about the meters but was told the Labour MP would come back to him when the Government’s Three Waters reform had been finalised.
Hoskin said he had read an article in which several residents contacted the Taranaki Daily News to complain about the proposed bill sharing, although none would be identified for fear of upsetting their neighbours. ‘‘So I decided to put my name to it.’’
Almost 4600 properties on crosslease sections and flats are set to be in a similar position to Hoskin.
The same system is used in Auckland where bills are shared between anyone living in flats or units, shared body corporate housing or commercial residential properties.
However, Christchurch City Council announced this week that about 25,295 households would not be charged for using excess water because they shared a meter with a neighbour.
Charges for water use in New Plymouth are yet to be decided, making it tough for Hoskin to decide whether installing his own meter is worth it.
In a previous report, council three waters manager Mark Hall said structuring of the charges for the metered service had been paused while the proposed Three Waters reforms were worked through.
Auckland’s Watercare charges $1.825 per 1000 litres for fresh water and $3.174 per 1000 litres for wastewater, while Christchurch gives users 700 litres a day free but charges $1.35 for every 1000 litres that a household uses over that limit. On average, New Plymouth residents use 304 litres per person each day, almost 60% more than similar-sized districts throughout New Zealand.