Wellington Water
Committee
Purpose
The
Wellington Water Committee ("the Committee") is established to:
·
Provide
governance oversight of the network infrastructure for the delivery of bulk
water, water reticulation, wastewater and stormwater services in the areas of
Lower Hutt City, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City and Wellington City ("the
four cities");
·
Provide
governance oversight of Wellington Water Limited; and
·
Provide
a forum for the representatives of Wellington Water Limited's shareholders
(being Wellington Regional Council and the local authorities for the four
cities) ("the Shareholders") to meet, discuss and co-ordinate on
relevant issues and, through their representatives, exercise their powers.
Status
The
Committee is a joint committee of the Lower Hutt City Council, Porirua City
Council, Upper Hutt City Council, Wellington City Council and Wellington
Regional Council.
Specific responsibilities
The
Committee's responsibilities are:
Governance oversight responsibilities
Governance
oversight of Wellington Water Limited and of the network infrastructure for the
delivery of bulk water, water reticulation, wastewater and stormwater services
in the areas of the four cities, including by:
·
Receiving
and considering the half-yearly and annual reports of Wellington Water Limited;
·
Receiving
and considering such other information from Wellington Water Limited as the
Committee may request on behalf of the Shareholders and/or receive from time to
time;
·
Undertaking
performance and other monitoring of Wellington Water Limited;
·
Considering
and providing recommendations to the Shareholders on proposals from Wellington
Water Limited;
·
Providing
co-ordinated feedback, and recommendations as needed, on any matters requested
by Wellington Water Limited or any Shareholder;
·
Providing
recommendations to the Shareholders regarding the relevant network
infrastructure owned by each Shareholder;
·
Providing
recommendations to the Shareholders regarding water conservation;
·
Agreeing
the annual Letter of Expectation to Wellington Water Limited;
·
Receiving,
considering and providing agreed feedback and recommendations to Wellington
Water Limited on its draft statement of intent;
·
Receiving,
considering and providing recommendations to the Shareholders regarding
Wellington Water Limited's final statement of intent.
·
Agreeing
when Shareholder meetings, or resolutions in lieu of Shareholder meetings, are
required, without prejudice to Shareholder and board rights to call meetings
under Wellington Water Limited's constitution;
·
Seeking
and interviewing candidates for Wellington Water Limited's board as needed and approving
director appointments and/or removals;
·
Approving
the remuneration of directors of Wellington Water Limited;
·
Monitoring
the performance of the board of Wellington Water Limited; and
·
Providing
recommendations to the Shareholders regarding changes to these terms of
reference, the Shareholders' Agreement and the constitution of Wellington Water
Limited.
Shareholders'
responsibilities
To
the extent that each Shareholder delegates its relevant powers to the Committee
member it appoints, the Committee will provide a forum for the Shareholders to
meet and exercise their powers in relation to Wellington Water Limited.
Membership
The
membership of the Committee will total five persons, as follows:
·
One
member appointed by Hutt City Council;
·
One
member appointed by Porirua City Council;
·
One
member appointed by Upper Hutt City Council;
·
One
member appointed by Wellington City Council; and
·
One
member appointed by Wellington Regional Council.
[Each
appointee must be an elected member of the appointing Shareholder.]
Chairperson
The
Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson will be elected by the Committee once all
Committee members have been appointed.
Quorum
For
a meeting of the Committee to have a quorum, three members, or their appointed
alternates, must be present.
Where
the Committee is providing a forum for the Shareholders to meet and exercise
their powers in relation to Wellington Water Limited, the requirements of
Wellington Water Limited's constitution will prevail.
[Note: Clause 11.3 of the company’s constitution provides
that Directors shall be appointed and removed by the unanimous resolution of
the shareholders. For this matter the quorum is therefore all five members or
their alternates.]
Alternates
Each
member appointed to the Committee must have an alternate appointed by the
relevant Shareholder. The alternate may attend and vote at meetings of
the Committee, but only in the event that the primary member is unable to do
so.
Decision-making
The
Committee will strive to make all decisions by consensus.
In
the event that a consensus on a particular matter before the Committee is not
able to be reached, each member of the Committee has a deliberative vote.
In the situation where there is an equality of votes cast on a matter, the
Chairperson does not have a casting vote and therefore the matter subject to
the vote is defeated and the status quo is preserved.
Other
than for those matters for which the Committee has effective decision-making
capacity through these terms of reference, each Shareholder retains its full
powers to make its own decisions on matters referred to it by the Committee.
Standing Orders
The
Wellington Regional Council's Standing Orders apply, subject to the provisions
for meeting quorum and decision making as set out in these terms of reference
taking precedence.
Remuneration
Each
Shareholder will be responsible for remunerating its representative on the
Committee for any costs associated with that person's membership of the
Committee.
Administration
Reports
to be considered by the Committee may be submitted by any of the Shareholders
or Wellington Water Limited.
Duration of the Committee
In
accordance with clause 30(7) of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 2002,
the Committee is not deemed to be discharged following each triennial election.
Appendix
Common delegations
Governance oversight responsibilities
·
Each
Shareholder will delegate to the Committee the responsibilities and powers
necessary to participate in and carry out the Committee's governance oversight
responsibilities.
Shareholders'
responsibilities
·
Each
Shareholder will delegate to its appointed Committee member and, in accordance
with these terms of reference, that person's alternate, all responsibilities
and powers in relation to the agreement of:
o when
Shareholder meetings, or resolutions in lieu of Shareholder meetings, are
required (without prejudice to Shareholder and Board rights to call meetings
under Wellington Water Limited's constitution); and
o the
appointment, removal and remuneration of Wellington Water Limited's directors.
Executive summary 3
How the case was developed 4
How change supports wider goals 7
Alignment with
international and national priorities 7
A sustainable water
supply contributes to regional priorities 8
Aspirations for sustainable water supply 10
Why our water supply is not sustainable 11
Current state –
our water system is under pressure 11
Is it worthwhile to intervene? 17
What benefits will we
see? 17
Benefits to the wider
region 18
Dependencies and
uncertainties 18
Strategic responses 19
How will we decide
which options are best? 20
Summary and next steps 22
Appendix A – Three Waters Strategy 23
Appendix B – Problem map 24
Appendix C – Problem and causes 25
Appendix D – Influences and vulnerabilities of
Wellington’s water supply 26
Appendix E – Benefits map 27
Executive summary
Opportunity in a nutshell: investing in a sustainable water
supply for Wellington
A safe, reliable and sustainable
water supply is fundamental to achieving public health and the social,
cultural, environmental and economic prosperity of the region.
We need to consider water
holistically. This means we consider the physical aspects of the water such as
its source (including environmental quality of freshwater), treatment systems
and infrastructure, as well as human aspects such as behaviour and use of
water.
Water in the Wellington Region is
limited and so we need to ensure it is distributed and consumed in a way that
avoids wastage and encourages efficient use of water.
Water supply is also intrinsically
linked to the quality of water (the topic of another Future Service Study yet
to be completed).
The
key drivers for change discussed in this case are:
· demand for water will exceed
capacity to supply - current water consumption and a growing population will
lead to water shortages by 2040
· our water sources and networks
are vulnerable - threats to our vulnerable water sources and networks are
compromising our ability to maintain supply
· there may be less water available
for us to use – potential reduction in our current water take to meet
environmental needs may constrain our ability to supply community and customer
needs.
We
will know we have sustainable water supply when the following benefits are
realised:
· we have appropriate[1] water available to support
economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing
· we have improved efficiency of
supply across the whole network
· we have improved environmental
outcomes at source.
Through
the strategic case development, six strategic responses have been identified to
improve delivery of a sustainable water supply:
· increase supply capacity for
communities and customers
· improve operational resilience of
our infrastructure
· efficient and effective design and
management of the water supply network
· improve how we protect our water
sources
· reduce water demand
· review levels of service for the
provision of drinking water.
Sustainable Water Supply is the
first of a series of planned Future Service Studies and the first step in this
Future service Study is to complete this Strategic Case.
The next step is for the Wellington
Water Committee to consider whether to progress to a Programme Business Case or
Detailed Business Cases for sustainable water supply.
If this Strategic Case is supported
and we move to the next step, then we will also consider strategic responses
from other Future Service Studies as we progress, so we can clearly see
interdependencies with them.
How the case was developed
We have developed this strategic
case as the first step in the Better Business Case investment process. Its
objective is to unpack the implications of doing nothing and to outline the
rationale for targeting specific areas for change and investment. It does this
by addressing the following questions:
· how will establishing a sustainable
water supply support our goals and priorities?
· why isn’t our water supply
sustainable in the long-term?
· what are the benefits of making a
change?
· what high-level response options are
available to us?
Being the first step in a wider
investment process, this strategic case is deliberately high-level and does not
seek to be determinative of final solutions. It is a starting point. A second
phase of more detailed study or investigation is expected to follow the
strategic case and produce a Programme Business Case (or similar) to support
more focussed investment decision making.
The answers to the above questions
were shaped by a series of workshops – firstly with our Water Committee,
to set the direction and scope of this work, followed by two investment logic
mapping (ILM) workshops with representatives from our five client councils and
other key stakeholders. In parallel, more detailed work has been brought
together by a smaller group of experts. Through this engagement, we have
distilled the case and appetite for change. This document reflects those
discussions and decisions.
What does this case cover?
The scope of this work is described
in five dimensions:
· Geographic area - focus on the Wellington Metropolitan
region (‘the region’). In other words, where Wellington Water
operates now[2].
We do recognise that we need to take wider regional needs and issues into
consideration as well
·
· Users - includes current and future
customers and users. Users may be community groups or commercial entities, and
future users includes those who may seek to connect to our services through
growth, new development and existing developments that shift onto our networks.
Currently this is all potable water provided for all private and commercial use
– for drinking, cooking and cleaning, bathrooms, garden use and the
relevant commercial operations.
·
· Service - includes all aspects of the supply
of drinking water including quality and quantity; all aspects of our
infrastructure networks, water sources and treatment systems
·
· Time horizon - we are taking a 50-year view, with an
eye out to 100 years.
Why do we need to make decisions now?
The need for this strategic case was
triggered by a Long Term Plan discussion with Greater Wellington Regional
Council.
Our modelling has indicated
that if per capita demand remains the same, our growing population will need a
new water source by 2040 (see Figure 1).
Our client councils
will need to budget for new water supplies as part of their 2024/34 Long Term
Plan (LTP) process. The development of a new source, will take at least 10
years.
This means we need to complete
the future service study on options by 2020 and continue with further planning
in time to inform the 2024/34 and subsequent LTPs.
As we progress through this
future service study, we’d expect conversations to occur about the levels
of service for water supply and whether there’s an opportunity to review
them in light of our changing environment (climate change), increasing
vulnerability of our water sources and the fragility of the water network. It
comes down to the level of risk customers are willing to take and what they can
afford, as well as client council’s role in making investment
decisions that represent the interests of their community. This may mean some
form of customer engagement later in the future service study process to understand
what customers expect and are willing to support through rates (or other
mechanisms).
We need to remember that
establishing a new water supply/source in the form of new infrastructure is
only one solution to how we can best balance out demand for water with our ability
to supply. We need to understand where this sits within the range of strategic
responses and the extent to which other options could ease pressure on our
supply.
We need to examine all options to
determine the best combination of actions we can take. This strategic case is
the first step in that process.
How change supports wider goals
This section provides the context
for change and where this fits into international, national and regional water
management priorities.
Alignment
with international and national priorities
Having access to safe drinking water
is central to living a life with dignity and upholding human rights.
Water management in New Zealand is
shaped by a range of statutes, regulations and legislative instruments,
frameworks, guidelines and events. A number of these are currently being
developed or adapted, particularly in response to the Havelock North
gastroenteritis outbreak.
See Table 1 for further detail on
how the Sustainable Water Supply Programme (SWS) will contribute to
international and national priorities and the key frameworks.
Table 1
SWS alignment to international and national priorities
|
Strategic objective
|
How the SWS will contribute
|
|
United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals
|
Goal 6: Ensure availability and
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
The SWS will support four of the eight
targets to achieve Goal 6 through sustainable water withdrawals; improved
water efficiency; protection of water-related eco-systems, including
aquifers, and biodiversity; and equal, affordable and safe access to water
sanitation and hygiene for employees and communities.
|
|
National Policy Statement -
Freshwater (NPS-FW)
|
Potential changes made by the SWS will
work within the environmental limits or “objectives” set through
GWRC’s Whaitua processes as outlined in the Proposed Natural Resources
Plan for the Wellington Region. These processes are designed to give effect
to the NPS-FW.
|
|
National Policy Statement –
Urban Development Capacity (NPS-UDC)
|
The NPS-UDC directs local authorities to
ensure there is sufficient development capacity to meet the needs of
communities. Appropriate and sustainable infrastructure, including water
supply, will ensure the region’s capacity to grow is not constrained.
|
|
Drinking Water Standards (DWS) for
New Zealand 2005 (revised 2008)
and
Health (Drinking Water) Amendment
Act 2007
|
Safe drinking water is crucial to public
health. To be deemed “safe”, drinking water needs to meet the
requirements of the Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (revised
2008).
The Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act
2007 requires councils to take all practicable steps to comply with
drinking-water standards and to implement a Water Safety plan for
drinking-water supply.
The SWS programme will support compliance
with these legislative requirements in the future.
|
|
National Environmental Standard
for Sources of Human Drinking Water (NES)
|
The NES sets out the requirements for
protecting sources of human drinking water from becoming contaminated.
Potential changes made by the SWS will
align source / catchment management standards to strengthen the importance of
source protection as a barrier
|
|
Civil Defence and Emergency
Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act)
|
The CDEM Act requires councils to ensure
they can continue to function to the fullest possible extent following a
hazard event; although that may be at a reduced level.
The resilience work already underway and
the SWS will support this by understanding and addressing our network and
supply vulnerabilities.
|
A
sustainable water supply contributes to regional priorities
Wellington
Water’s vision is to:
“create
excellence in regional water services so communities prosper.”
The
SWS will support our objectives as well as those of our client councils (see
Table 2).
Table 2
SWS alignment to regional priorities
|
Strategic objective
|
How the SWS will contribute
|
|
Wellington Water customer outcomes
|
The SWS will directly support all three
of Wellington Water’s customer outcomes specified in the Statement of
Intent (2018-21):
· Safe and healthy
water
· Respect for the
environment
· Resilient
networks that support our economy
|
|
Wellington Water, Three Waters
Strategy
|
The SWS is the first Future Service Study
that is an important step in delivering on our Three Waters Strategy. Other
Future Service Studies are planned and will have linkages with the SWS one
(ie. quality of water).
|
|
Client Council priorities
|
All client councils have included
resilience and supporting growth as priorities in their Long Term Plans. In
addition, Greater Wellington Regional Council includes priorities around
water safety and wider network performance.
|
About the Three Waters
Strategy and the future service studies
The Three Waters Strategy[3] sets out the
future direction for three waters over the next fifty years. It identifies
challenges and opportunities and how our investment in three waters needs to
reflect change. Key themes from the strategy are outlined below (see Appendix A
for further information).
The Three Waters Strategy identified
several areas for further study to put the strategy into action over the next
few years (see Figure 2). These studies, known as Future Services Studies, will
each be explored. The findings and results will inform decision-making at all
relevant levels through to the Regional Services Plan, 2024/34 Long Term Plans
and Infrastructure Strategies.
We will schedule the development of
strategic cases from the suite of Future Service Studies to coincide so we can
place each set of strategic responses alongside each other and look at their
interdependencies. The SWS is the first of these Future Service studies
to be completed.
.
Aspirations for sustainable water supply
The Three Waters Strategy
describes the future state for all the waters as:
“Our
region treasures its water. Our streams and harbours are healthy, our drinking
water is safe and secure, our networks are resilient, our growing cities are
water sensitive and we are prepared for a changing climate. Water is at the
core of how we plan and grow our cities.”
For the Sustainable Water Supply
Programme, the future means:
· we have fit-for-purpose water for
our users
· we are confident of our plan to 50
years and have a strong view to what needs to happen in 100 years
· we have the knowledge and data to
support discussions about trade-offs and changes to the network
· efficient delivery of water supply
through the network (including reduced leaks and cross connections)
· 
we have sufficient agility and
redundancy in the system to be flexible enough to cope with swings in demand
and supply.
While we are on the path to a
sustainable water supply, we must be able to cope with the reasonable needs of
our customers and users.
This includes meeting our agreed
level of service, which is to meet a drought resilience of 2% annual shortfall
probability, and to maintain an appropriate region-wide firefighting supply.
Reasonable use also includes
complying with water restrictions in summertime, fixing leaks on private
property and having a meter for large users of water such as consumers with in
ground swimming pools.
Why our water supply is not sustainable
This section identifies
the key problems, or drivers for change. The gap between the current and future
state helps tell the story of what needs to be done.
Current
state – our water system is under pressure
Where does our water come from?
The Wellington Metropolitan region
is fortunate to have most of its water sourced from protected catchments. On
average, Wellington sources 45% of its water from the aquifer, 40% from the
Hutt River (storage in the Macaskill Lakes), and 15% from the Orongorongo
catchments. The mix changes in summer when we have increased reliance on
the aquifer.
Land upstream of all river
abstraction points are owned and managed by Greater Wellington Regional
Council. Risks of contamination are kept low through active pest management and
controlled access to the catchment area.
The water supply to our four cities
comes from three primary sources:
· the headwaters of the Hutt River
(abstracted from an intake at Kaitoke weir, stored in the Macaskill lakes and
treated at the Te Marua Water Treatment Plant (WTP))
· the Wainuiomata and Orongorongo
catchments (abstracted from river intakes and treated at the Wainuiomata Water
Treatment Plant)
· the Waiwhetu aquifer (primarily
treated at the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant although there is a standby
treatment plant at Gear Island, Petone)
Bulk water sourced from the Hutt,
Orongorongo and Wainuiomata rivers is limited by resource consents which
require minimum flows to be maintained so that the ecological health of rivers
is sustained. On days where there is excess supply of water, some is diverted
to the Macaskill storage lakes at Te Marua. Stored water is pumped back to the
treatment plant when river flows are too low to meet demand, or during high
flow events when the intakes are closed to prevent gravels from entering the
system.
Water extracted from the Waiwhetu
aquifer is also limited by resource consents which are intended to minimise
salt water intrusion risks, as the aquifer extends beneath the harbour.
River sources (Hutt, Wainuiomata and Orongorongo Rivers)
Water
quality in the Wellington metropolitan region is variable. Larger rivers,
flowing out of forested ranges are in ‘excellent’ or
‘good’ health, such as the upper reaches of the Hutt or the Orongorongo
River.
Water available from rivers reduces
in the summer because of low flows, at the same time as demand increases. This
forces the Wainuiomata treatment plant to shut down several times during most
summers. The Te Marua treatment plant can continue operating in summer because
it can draw water from the Macaskill lakes. However, the volume contained in
the lakes can be significantly depleted over just a couple of months of dry
weather.
Aquifer source
(Waiwhetu aquifer at Waterloo and Gear Island)
About 45% of the regions water is
sourced from the Waiwhetu aquifer. This water is of a high quality due to a
natural filtering process.
Pumping
from the aquifer increases significantly during summer; this is to help
preserve storage in the Macaskill Lakes. Supply from the aquifer is constrained
by the need to maintain sufficient pressure to prevent saline intrusion from
the Wellington harbour.
Problem statements
Two Investment Logic
Mapping (ILM)[4]
workshops were held in May 2018 to define the current problems and benefits of
sustainable water supply for the region. The workshops have helped to uncover
potential high-level responses and options to address sustainable water supply
and create a set of measurable set of investment objectives. See Appendices B
and C for the completed
ILM, and a summary of the three key problems and the drivers sitting behind
each problem.
Problem one: Demand for water will exceed our capacity to supply
Current water consumption and a growing
population will lead to water shortages by 2040
Wellington has a growing population
that consumes water at persistently and comparatively high rates. Unless
this changes, we will to meet an drought resilience level of service beyond
2040.
In Wellington this is driven by:
· significant leakage and loss in the
system and on private property. People may not be aware of leakages, or unaware
of the importance of fixing these. This could include unauthorised water takes
· commitments to new housing
developments, growth and intensification
· inefficient use of water (ie. older,
less water efficient designs and technologies are widely used across the region
and wider New Zealand[5])
· higher than necessary use (wastage)
possibly as a result of lack of awareness of the importance of conserving water
(ie. garden watering) and a general undervaluing of the resource[6].
Wellington
has a relatively high per capita water use. The median average daily
residential water use for the region is 260 litres per person per day. This is
in line with the nationwide average, but is at least 26% higher than all other
large New Zealand cities, and many international centres.
While this demand has reduced
significantly over the last 12 years, since 2016 the downward trend has
flattened off.
Our modelling/analysis included
climate change predictions but the variability of the potential impacts being
predicted by NIWA mean that over the next 50 years our changing climate will
have only a small impact on decision making in comparison to growth. Growth in water use is dominantly
driven by population and economic growth.
Population forecasts show that the
region’s population is expected to grow by around 81,000 over next 30
years. It is predicted that approximately 65% of the combined growth will occur
in Wellington City, 11% in each of Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt and 14% in
Porirua. Continuing to deliver current levels of service (and improved
environmental levels of service), whilst at the same time supporting new growth
and without any other changes, will require increased levels of investment.
If this problem is not addressed,
then we are likely to see:
· more frequent seasonal water restrictions
driven by high demand
· the need for a new water source
arriving sooner than anticipated. This will need substantial investment from
all client councils. Delaying this investment has the potential to save the
region $2 million per year.
Longer term, if these issues are not
addressed water availability could potentially limit growth and
development/intensification across the region.
Problem two: Our water sources and network are vulnerable
Threats to our vulnerable water sources and networks are compromising
our ability to maintain supply
Our water sources are vulnerable to
both natural and human factors. These may be shock events, like storms and
earthquakes, or slower and longer term shifts, such as climatic changes or
inappropriate land-use that have the potential to affect source water
availability and quality.
Some sources are more at risk than
others. For example, contaminated surface water or shallow groundwater can
compromise aquifer water quality. This could be via natural pathways,
unprotected well heads, or as a result of activities that puncture layers that
protect the aquifer.
Climate change is also likely to
affect our water sources through shifting weather extremes and more intense
weather events.
Sea-level rise will increase the
risk of saline intrusion into the Waiwhetu aquifer unless abstraction is
reduced; increases in water temperature creates increased risk of algal
activity in our surface waters such as the Hutt River; more frequent drought
and intense storm events will further restrict our ability to take water from
surface water sources.
Shock events, such as storms, slips
and earthquakes can also affect the water supply network. Aging and
brittle infrastructure located in our unstable soils means that the water
network is vulnerable, with 46% of the network currently described as fragile.
With increasing population and
potentially increased intensification of land-use, comes the risk of
contamination seeping through to our waterways and aquifer over time.
Additionally, contaminants of emerging significance are an issue that may
require greater focus in the future. These have potential to cause adverse
ecological and/or human health effects.
If this problem is not addressed, we
are likely to see:
· more frequent restrictions or
outages in supply due to failures in our network
· increased health risks around our
water including potential contamination events that may make our people unwell
and /or completely remove a water source from use
· increased treatment and conveyance
costs
· reduced aesthetics – taste,
smell and colour
· slow recovery times after a shock
event.
Problem three: There may be less water available for us to use
Potential reduction in our current water take to meet
environmental needs may constrain our ability to supply community and customer
needs.
People’s expectations around
water supply, water use and sustainability are changing. Communities and
government want to see more water left in the environment for environmental,
cultural and social reasons. At the same time there is an increased focus on
recreation, aesthetics and the liveability of our cities.
Policy is developed to reflect
community expectations. Recently, these shifts are seen in:
· expectations to maintain water
quality through the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
· likely increases to minimum flows
for rivers and future resource consents through the proposed Natural Resources
Plan for the Wellington region.
Based on the rules in the Proposed
Natural Resources Plan, provided applications for resource consents for the
taking of water are made prior to the expiry of existing consents in 2031, we
will able to take the same amount of water as we do currently. If there were no
existing consents in place the amount of water able to be taken would be
substantially reduced.
This is all subject to the Natural
Resources Plan and Whaitua processes being finalised.
An added challenge is that most of
the region’s major rivers are fully allocated, or even over-allocated.
This means at normal to low flow there is only just enough water to meet all consented water takes.
Ensuring water is available to
maintain minimum flows and aquifer levels could impact on the availability for
drinking water supply. This could limit and even reduce the amount of water
available to our community and customers.
If this problem is not addressed,
then we could compromise our ability to achieve environmental obligations that
are supported by the community
An infographic demonstrating how the
influences and vulnerabilities of the current water supply that sit behind each
of the problems are interlinked can be found in Appendix D.
Is it worthwhile to intervene?
This section outlines the potential
benefits that could be realised through the successful implementation of a
sustainable water supply for Wellington.
What
benefits will we see?
Figure 3 Benefits
map for Sustainable Water in Wellington
These benefits were agreed as part
of the ILM workshop process involving representatives from our client councils,
potable water experts and other stakeholders. Measures that will be used to
track progress toward delivering the benefits are shown on the draft benefits
map in Appendix E. The measures will be confirmed through the next phase of
investment thinking and may need to change to align with the other Future
Service Studies.
These benefits are aligned to our
customer outcomes.
Appropriate water available to support
economic, social and cultural wellbeing
Having enough water means water of
the right quality, quantity and reliability. This is crucial to promoting
wellbeing in the community.
We will know this benefit is being
realised when evidence shows there is a reduced risk to human health, our
volume is appropriate to meet user needs, our supplies are reliable, and we use
it wisely and efficiently.
Currently all water supplied is
potable, irrespective of use. The use of the term ‘appropriate’
reflects that while drinking water remains critical to supporting community and
cultural wellbeing, we may need to consider how non-potable water can meet
other water use needs.
We have improved efficiency of supply cross the whole network
Improvements to the wider network
(from source to tap) will be a key part of establishing a sustainable water
supply. Reducing water lost between water extracted from our sources and the
water “consumed” is crucial. We need to work with consumers
(residential and commercial) to encourage efficient water use.
Long term affordability is a given
if our water supply is truly sustainable. It is important that we take
the long-term view of our resources and needs, and consider future users’
needs when solving near term issues. Any trade-offs will need to be made
transparently with our client councils and communities.
We have improved environmental outcomes at source
Establishing a sustainable water
supply, to address the problems identified, will result in more water being
available to meet environmental, recreational, social and cultural needs of the
community. This includes being able to support GWRC’s environmental
management priorities (Regional Policy Statements, The Natural Resources Plan
and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management) and will be seen
through increased minimum flows and aquifer pressures as a result of reduced or
limited water takes.
Benefits
to the wider region
Although there are clear benefits to
improving the sustainability of water supply in its own right, we should not
lose sight of the larger benefits that stem from having a sustainable region.
Freshwater supply needs to be considered as one strand within the Three Waters
Strategy and the wider infrastructure bundle (eg. wastewater and storm water,
electricity, transport, telecommunications). A sustainable region is the
ultimate prize. This would mean the region would be much better equipped to
meet and recover from both shock events and from longer, slower shifts over the
next 100 years. This outcome would see our region in much better shape in this
changing world.
The Wellington Lifelines Group is
addressing this through the Wellington Resilience Project. This project looks
at the inter-dependencies within the regions lifeline infrastructure and has
concluded that investment is required to support the region’s viability
after a significant natural event. Drinking water supply is near the top of the
investment priorities.
Dependencies
and uncertainties
There are some pieces of work that
are connected with the SWS. There are also some elements of the water
management environment that are unknown or uncertain now. These uncertainties
will be monitored, with responses made as is appropriate. See Table 3 for this
detail.
Table 3
SWS dependencies and uncertainties
|
Dependencies
|
Uncertainties
|
|
The SWS is connected to the
following pieces of work:
· Operational
resilience work underway to address the risks of natural hazards in the
region
· Other Future
Service Studies
· The (urban)
growth strategies of our client councils
· Outputs of the
NPS-UDC
· Patterns of
growth as articulated through District Plans that will identify future water
infrastructure needs
· The SWS will
provide us with evidence to support future renewals and applications to take
water
· Climate change
adaptation initiatives
· Water Safety
Plans
|
· Outcomes of the
Whaitua and proposed Natural Resource Plan process – including changes
to the environmental limits and objectives. Early indications are that this
is very likely to occur (as discussed in Problem three: there may be less
water available for us to use)
· Long Term Plans
for each of the client councils
· The outcome of
governments Three Waters Review that followed the Havelock North Inquiry may
result in changes to how we manage water supply, including the definition of
a “secure” groundwater source. There could also be wider
legislative changes that affect water management in New Zealand.
|
Strategic responses
This section outlines the strategic
response areas that will support a sustainable water supply in Wellington and
how the different options will be considered.
Determining the final interventions,
or solutions, is not a role for this strategic case. Detailed option
development and analysis is a key part of phase two of this future service
study. However, by examining both the key problems and the potential benefits,
we are able to identify broad areas of change that will address these. These
strategic responses are presented in Figure 4.
Prior to the development of this
strategic case, Wellington Water had a number of initiatives underway that are
related to sustainable water supply strategic responses. Most of these will
continue to contribute towards improving our water supply sustainability but
may in time be complimented with other solutions as they arise out of this
future service study.
How
will we decide which options are best?
We will continue to work with our
key stakeholders and experts to develop a full range of options, or activities,
for each of the strategic response areas. Some options will fit into multiple
categories.
We will then assess these options
individually, and as packages, on how well they support the investment
objectives and the critical success factors (CSFs) of the programme. The
current proposed CSFs are outlined in Table 4 below, including the five
standard Better Business Case criteria. We will confirm whether these are the
right criteria for assess the potential options early in phase two.
Table 4
Proposed critical success factors for the SWS
|
Key
Critical Success Factors
|
Broad
description
|
|
Specific CSFs for the SWS
|
|
Delivers on customers’
expectations
|
· Provides
appropriate safe and healthy water
|
|
No negative impacts on others
|
· will not
negatively affect our neighbouring region, or those who aren’t using
our network
|
|
Respectful of the environment
|
· will support GWRC
intentions for water management and environmental care
|
|
Better Business Case CSFs
|
|
Strategic fit and business needs
|
· meets the agreed
investment objectives, related business needs and requirements
· fits with other
strategies, programmes and projects
|
|
Potential value for money
|
· optimises value
for money, ie. the optimal mix of potential benefits, costs (capital and
operational) and risks while providing required levels of service
· incentives
efficient use and reduces wastage
|
|
Supplier capacity and capability
|
· enables us to easily
procure the systems and services we need
|
|
Potential affordability
|
· fits within the
fiscal constraints of our client councils
|
|
Potential achievability
|
· is likely to be
delivered given the organisation’s ability to respond to the changes
required
· matches the level
of available skills required for successful delivery
· can be delivered
in an appropriate timeframe.
|
We will continue to work collaboratively
We are committed to being trusted
advisors to our client councils and working collaboratively with our customers,
mana whenua partners and stakeholders to make sure their perspectives are
incorporated into all that we do.
The key stakeholders, experts and
groups we have worked with to develop this strategic case, and will continue to
work with on the SWS, are outlined below.
· Client Councils (including the
Wellington Water Committee, Chief Executives from each Council, Infrastructure
Managers and other representatives)
· Mana whenua partners
· Regional Public Health
· Wellington Water Customer Panel
· Other user groups and
representatives from neighbouring Councils (ie. Kapiti Coast District Council
and Wairarapa Councils).
Summary and next steps
The current water supply for
Wellington is not sustainable in the future without changes.
A safe, reliable and sustainable
water supply is essential to the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of our
community and customers. For Māori, water is taonga because it
supports life and empowers all things.
It is for these reasons that we need
to leave water in the natural environment as a self-sustaining system and only
take what we need. When we do use it, it comes back into the environment in the
same or better condition than when we took it out originally.
We have a number of challenges
facing us at present and in the future – to have and keep a sustainable
water supply. Some of these challenges are growth/development in the Wellington
region, achieving a “water efficient culture” with water users,
addressing vulnerabilities in our water sources (ie. the impacts of climate
change and emerging contaminants) and meeting potential regulatory requirements
that may restrict our water takes to keep more water in the environment.
The benefits of addressing problems
in this case will mean that appropriate water is available to support economic,
social and cultural wellbeing that consumers play an important role in water
efficiency, that we have improved efficiency of supply across the whole network
and that we will have improved environmental outcomes at source – leaving
more water in the natural environment.
The next stage in the Future Service
Study process is to look at strategic responses/solutions in more detail
through a Programme Business Case or Detailed Business Cases (ie. economic,
financial etc).
It is recommended that this
strategic case is endorsed by the Wellington Water Committee and A Programme
Business Case or Detailed Business Cases proceed but in a manner that aligns
with other related Future Service Studies so that holistic solutions can be
considered as input to future LTP processes.
