Mayors, councillors and mana whenua in the metropolitan Wellington region agreed that urgent action is needed to face serious risks and challenges in the water network.

The region is facing significant and increasing risk of water shortages and providing a reliable water supply for their communities in future years.

"Water use in the Wellington metropolitan region is at an all-time high and is increasing every year," says Campbell Barry, the Chair of the Wellington Water Committee, who called today’s Water Shortage Summit.

"We all know that there is a growing number of leaks due to an aging network and historical underinvestment. We are also seeing higher water use generally and a growing population in the region that is increasing the demands for water and putting more pressure on our water services.

"Our drinking water system has a finite capacity, and we can only treat and supply a set amount of water on any given day. We need to do more to make sure we can continue to reliably provide our residents with enough water.

"All those in attendance [over 60 elected officials and mana whenua] agree that the situation is urgent and we need to act now."

Three key actions were recommended by Wellington Water to tackle the issue:

• Continue with increased investment into finding and fixing leaks, managing water loss, and replacing old infrastructure.
• Investment in universal smart water meters across the metropolitan Wellington region.
• Build another storage lake.

"The overwhelming majority agreed that these recommendations be taken to each of the council’s Long Term Plans for decision," Campbell says.

"Obviously, the Long Term Plans themselves will need to undergo public consultation, but if accepted, this investment will be the first time all councils have taken a regionally coordinated approach to addressing water loss."

Wellington Water’s Chief Executive Tonia Haskell has welcomed the direction from today’s summit.

"Providing a reliable supply of drinking water is an essential service we provide our communities," says Tonia.

"We are doing all we can at Wellington Water to manage the network in an efficient and effective way and to reduce water loss and leaks. But it’s not enough to combat what is a complex and multi-generational issue that requires long-term investment and solutions.

"Today’s direction from the summit provides us, as the region’s water services provider, with a clear steer. In the meantime, we will continue finding and fixing the biggest leaks."

Both Campbell and Tonia note that these mitigations are for future years and won’t have an impact on the water shortage risk the region is still facing this year if we experience an average summer with no significant rainfall.

"We have asked Wellington Water to do all it can to reduce this year’s risk through their current programme of work. They are also working with our councils to be prepared to respond if we face a situation where we are unable to supply enough water to meet consumer usage and demand," says Campbell.

"On Sunday 24 September, the whole region will be on Level 1 Water Restrictions, as it does every year. This means we all need to start to be more aware of our water use and make changes to our behaviour. Using less now means we will have more water available for when the weather starts to get really dry.

"Wellington Water will be monitoring the situation closely and providing our councils with advice on water usage and whether or not the region needs to move into tighter restrictions as we progress through the summer."

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