Excess water usage charges.
I had cause to contact the Council regarding excess water charges and whether the charge was still in force, as my meter has not been read since FEB 2023.
Plus, it was still in force to remind me of the justification behind it.
It turns out that it is still in place at 900ltrs per day and the reason given is:
"In two of the three previous summers, demand on our water supply network has been so high that it's been at risk of not being able to supply enough water to properties. If this happened, it could have serious impacts on public health, as well as public safety in the event of a significant fire.
Low water pressure in the pipes also causes other health and safety issues such as allowing groundwater to enter the network through breaks that would usually leak outwards under normal pressure. Groundwater can contain potentially harmful microbes that cause illness. Our Water Supply team then have to respond by increasing chlorination."
I pointed out that water saved in Halswell will not help the lack of water pressure in Fendalton or the hospital. In fact, ONLY the facilities in the areas with smaller piping and older systems, suffer from this problem. Charging the rest of the city to encourage them to reduce their usage does NOTHING to stop the drop in water pressure in other Zones.
With this system, we do not SAVE water, as water that is not used today, goes to the sea, there is no huge tank below the ground that today's water can be stored in, until tomorrow.
There is plenty of water or we would not be building new subdivisions.
A relatively small area of the city will suffer water pressure problems on hot summer days during peak demand times, even if the rest of the city turned their water OFF.
The Manager of the Water Division explained it to me.
Suellen’s sweet Christmas tradition
The festive season is always a great excuse to indulge your sweet tooth, and this time of year poses the perfect opportunity to bring a real showstopper to the Christmas table.
For Suellen’s family, that showstopper is Croquembouche, an impressive tower of cream puffs bound together with spun sugar that is popular at weddings in France and Italy.
What began as a birthday treat at a local French café has become a cherished Christmas tradition for Suellen and her 17-year-old twin granddaughters, Ellie and Sadie. Every year, the trio gather in Suellen’s apartment at William Sanders Village to cook this festive dessert - a holiday highlight they all treasure.
Click read more for the recipe.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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