Water meters preferred option for Horowhenua

Veronica from Manakau

22 April, 2023

Installing water meters on all Horowhenua properties connected to the water network is the preferred option of the Horowhenua District Council.

An extra $6.1 million has been budgeted for the installation of water meters in Council's consultation document to amend the 20 Year Long Term Plan (LTP).

The proposed plan states, "Forty percent of the district currently has water meters...for the purpose of detecting leaks and further reducing water losses."

"Without district wide use of water meters
as leak detectors, we would need to accelerate
investment into our water infrastructure...which is something we simply cannot afford."

"Council is aware of concern about the potential costs to ratepayers when a leak is found on their property. Council will look at different ways to can help to manage the costs through the next LTP. Options may include a targeted rate to pay the cost back over a number of years."

The extra $6.1 million is part of an extra $75 million being sought by Council for Levin Wastewater Treatment Plant ($14.5 million), Foxton Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant ($3 million), Levin Water Treatment Plant ($21.5 million), Levin water services ($4.8 million), Shannon water services ($3.5 million), Poads Road water storage ($2.5 million) and Stormwater improvement ($11.8 million).

The Council's proposed amendments received an 'adverse opinion' from the Audit Office for, "assuming that it will retain ownership of three waters infrastructure assets and remain responsible for the service delivery of three waters services" for the next 20 years.

The Audit Office report stated, "The assumptions are therefore not reasonable or supportable, which affects the credibility of the proposed LTP amendment."

The budget blowout is one of the reasons why Council is consulting on a 7.9 percent increase in general rates instead of the 6.5 percent rates limit set in consultation with the community in 2021.

Other reasons include, "costs have skyrocketed. Since 2021, construction costs have increased significantly driven by the cost of materials and the price of fuel."

The Council is also proposing to fund the increased costs of upgrading Foxton Pools from the Foxton Beach Freeholding Account.

If Council did agree to use the fund it says it would be breaching its own policy, "to have a minimum balance of $5 million cash in the account at all times."

"If Council were to approve the use of the
Freeholding Account for the Foxton Pool upgrades the balance would reduce to $4.2 million. This would be a further breach the policy.

"A breach of policy is not ideal, but this breach would not have any legislative consequences. If the funding did not come from the Freeholding Account it would need to be loan funded."

Consultation closes on 1 May