Don’t blame the weather
Our elected representatives, old and new, have joined PR departments in beseeching us to conserve water, expecting us to save 25 per cent on ‘normal’ use. They explain this is because it’s a drier year than average, implying the serious water restrictions now imposed are beyond council’s control — it’s the weather!
Most of us already practise water conservation, to save money, so what are we to do? And we’re told it’s likely to get worse. Summertime is precisely when demand for water is expected to increase, for various reasons, not least being that we host thousands of visitors. Gardens need watering, cars and boats need washing, paddling pools recharging, and water tanks run dry.
A drier than ‘average’ year is predictable, as is wetter than ‘average.’ Climate change modelling predicts both extremes becoming more frequent and more extreme. Whether one accepts that is irrelevant; the modelling exists, and expert advice to councils is it must be accounted for when designing and delivering resilient, essential infrastructure to cater to future demand.
Not only that, tourism has been a highly anticipated growth sector for our economy, with serious investment sunk in visitor attractions and facilities such as wharves, O¯ pua marina and Kerikeri airport. Tourists are coming by boat, plane and road (if they can find parking they stop) to eat, drink, flush and maybe shower and use a laundry.
And, as expected, several areas have seen a reinvigorated building boom as more people and investments locate north. Waipapa, one such area, had been served by a private water scheme until early 2019, when under urgency, requiring unbudgeted expense, it was connected into the Kerikeri scheme, apparently surprising council, which had chosen to ignore rather than factor risks to private supplies into the district’s 30-year infrastructure strategy.
Two years ago the NRC was asking how to divvy up the cost of proposed Waipapa flood protection works. Moerewa, Kaeo, Awanui and Kaitaia are also a focus for flood protection. I submitted to the NRC and FNDC, in relation to the Waipapa proposal, that they ought to collaborate to establish raw water storage solutions, rather than just diverting all the wet weather water supply out to sea. I’ve submitted to FNDC requesting much more treated water storage in relation to the Waitangi treatment plant. Council decided to look for an alternative source (not yet found).
I’ve requested greater protection of the Waitangi River as the source of town supply (via improved catchment management) in a submission to the NRC’s Waitangi River catchment management plan, as well as to both councils’ longterm plans. Other submitters across the Far North have requested protection of raw water sources our communities are reliant on, for more treated water storage and for new sources to be secured.
Elected representatives, please, stop blaming the weather. Get into chambers and demand delivery of solutions for the communities you serve, many of whom have already laid out their needs and ideas as submitters to planning processes this past decade. Make this your decade of delivery for ratepayers as communities.
"Elected representatives, get into chambers and demand delivery of solutions for the communities you serve . . . "