Water meters preferred option for Horowhenua
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
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
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