Watercare to raise Auckland water and wastewater charges

Watercare has announced Auckland households are set to pay another 2.5 per cent for water services from July 1. Photo / Pixabay

The price Aucklanders pay to run the tap and flush the toilet is set to rise by 2.5 per cent on July 1, Watercare has announced.

The price rises on water and wastewater charges would see a typical three-person household pay another $2.30 a month or about $28 per year, the company said in a statement.

The price of water will increase 2.5 per cent from $1.517 to $1.555 (including GST) per 1000 litres and the price of wastewater services will increase by an average of 3.3 per cent.

The bump in price is similar to the past three years of price rises. In 2016 water and wastewater charges jumped by an average of 2.5 per cent, in 2017 by about 3 per cent and in 2018 by 2.5 per cent.

Watercare's chief financial officer, Marlon Bridge, said the price rises were necessary to cover growing service delivery and infrastructure costs.

"Water and wastewater charges fund our day-to-day operations in supplying water to the people of Auckland, and treating wastewater to a high standard. They also contribute towards infrastructure renewals and expansion that support development across the region."

Watercare does not operate to make a profit and receives no funding from property rates paid to Auckland Council - it all gets put back into the operation, maintenance and expansion of the network, Bridge said.

"We are planning to spend $5.5 billion on upgrading and expanding our infrastructure over the next 10 years. About 70 per cent of the funding will come from our water and wastewater charges, with the rest coming from infrastructure growth charges and borrowings."

BY THE NUMBERS
• Water prices will increase from $1.517 to $1.555 (including GST) per 1000 litres for all customers.

• Fixed wastewater charges for domestic customers will rise $7 to $225 per year and from $2.618 to $2.704 per 1000 litres of wastewater discharged (including GST).

• Wastewater charges for non-domestic customers will increase by an average of 3.3 per cent.

• The Infrastructure Growth Charge (IGC) will increase by 3 per cent to $12,020 plus GST for metropolitan connections. The IGC rates for stand-alone non-metropolitan networks also increase by 3 per cent.