The cost of water

There is a quantum shift in thinking needed about water. It’s not an easy ask because there is no escaping the fact that stretching in front of us in Queenstown and Wanaka is a massive body of water. So what’s the problem? The problem is that there is a cost to taking a few drops from that giant bucket and having that water available at the turn of a tap. It’s called infrastructure (reservoirs, pipes etc) and it comes with a massive price tag.

So it made sense that when the Council started to look at the issue of ‘forecast debt’ that it took a hard, long look at where the money was earmarked to be spent. Of all the work streams around the issue of debt, the one that stood out was…water.

It’s simple , if we use less water then we don’t need to create more infrastructure. Over the next ten years, if we are clever, if we stop throwing potable (that means drinking standard) water around like we live next to a giant lake then we have worked out we can save $72.4 million. It won’t be easy but it can be done.

For its part, the Council is putting a whole lot of effort into leak detection and is starting to gear up around public education. For your part, start thinking about how you can cut back at home and at work. If we all contribute then the Council won’t have to go to plan B, which is around ‘helping’ people to conserve water, like water metering.

Think about things like using grey water to water the garden, turning the tap off when you brush your teeth, taking shorter showers, hand watering the garden early morning or in the evening. It will all help. Look out for more about this because it’s not going away.