What water shortage crisis? Why Wellington Water’s PR machine went into overdrive - A Capital Letter

After alarming warnings about potentially needing to boil drinking water, suburbs running dry, and a regional state of emergency, Wellington has avoided a much-talked-about crisis with barely any restrictions. Was it just a lot of hype over nothing? What made the situation this summer so different to the last one? Georgina Campbell wades in.

OPINION

Wellingtonians would be forgiven for thinking this is the first summer the capital has faced a serious water shortage.

Residents were queuing for emergency water tanks which sold out within hours, authorities wanted to draw more water from Hutt River, and “disappointed” Local Government Minister Simeon Brown resorted to using special powers to demand more information.

Incredibly, Wellington managed to avoid the looming crisis with Level 2 restrictions. The worst it got was watering one’s garden by hand instead of with a sprinkler.

These were the same restrictions last summer, the one before that, and the one before.

These summers were not met with the same wall-to-wall coverage. They passed with little interest in how much water we were using and losing.

This was despite Wellington Water consistently telling councils about the risk for several years and its annual campaign to raise public awareness.

In 2020 councils were explicitly warned water demand could outstrip supply by 2026.

Wellington Water committee meeting documents show the risk of tighter water restrictions was again highlighted in July and September 2022 and in July 2023.

The situation came to a head this summer for a reason.

Wellington Water committee chairman Campbell Barry said they asked the water company to “ramp up its communications with the public even more”.

“We wanted to highlight to the public the reality of the situation we are in.

“The risk of water shortages is not new, however, water use in the metropolitan Wellington region is at an all-time high and is increasing every year.”

Wellington Water reported a sharp and unexpected increase in leaks across the region in 2022 which had worsened by 2023.

About 44 per cent of the region’s drinking water is now being lost through leaks.

Niwa was also forecasting a dry summer.

Wellington Water thought Level 3 water restrictions were likely unless water demand was reduced considerably.

The Stuart Macaskill water storage lakes in Kaitoke Regional Park. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington Water regulatory services director Charles Barker said the state of the network and funding constraints meant they had to ask the public to use less water.

“This meant it was appropriate to review and adapt our communications approach and ensure the public were aware of the risk and what they could to do prepare.

“This resulted in a stronger message around the possibility of not having enough water to go around than previous years.”

Wellington Water diverted all its marketing budget and communications resources to focus solely on the risk of running out of water, potential restrictions and work being done to fix leaks.

This summer was not a fuss over nothing, although it’s unlikely quite the same fuss will be allowed to happen again.

Water services regulator Taumata Arowai has written to local councils asking for a clear plan to prevent the immediate risk of running out of water next summer.

“The plan should aim to ensure that we do not need to declare a drinking water emergency next summer and provide assurance that the risk of exceeding Level 2 water restrictions will be minimal,” council chief executives said.

This plan includes upgrading the Te Marua Water Treatment Plant, installing residential water meters, and starting public communications about water restrictions earlier in the year.

About 44 per cent of the region’s drinking water is now being lost through leaks. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Councils have signalled significant increases to operational and capital expenditure in their draft 10-year budgets. Some councils have also agreed to targeted funding to clear leak repair backlogs.

It’s not a bad thing that so much attention was given to a crisis that never eventuated this summer because it will eventuate at some point if left unchecked.

We probably would have moved to Level 3 restrictions if the message to conserve water hadn’t been hammered home.

The emergency water people stocked up on and never used will be good for when the big earthquake hits. The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office says people should have enough water for seven days.

Hopefully, it only comes in handy when Wellington Water turns off the supply for a few hours to fix another leak.

Senior journalist Georgina Campbell’s A Capital Letter column takes a deeper look at issues in Wellington, where she is based. Georgina has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.