Interest free loans, part of water conservation strategy

The Kāpiti Coast District Council proposes making interest-free loans available to ratepayers who install approved water conservation solutions which reduce the use of the Council’s potable water supply.

“This scheme is part of the Council’s strategy to reduce water consumption to 400 litres per person per day (lpd) over the next five years,” Mayor Jenny Rowan said today.

“We already have Plan Change 75 which requires all new houses to have either a 10,000 litre rain water tank or a 4000 litre tank and a greywater system to provide a non-potable water supply.  Over time, this will make a significant contribution to water consumption in the peak use months.

“However, to reach the targets we’ve set, we need to provide incentives and opportunities for existing ratepayers to install systems which can reduce potable water use.

“Some examples of water conservation devices include greywater garden irrigation systems, rain water tanks, retrofitting of old existing water tanks which may need new plumbing or a pump, or a separate sand trap bore needing a resource consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council.

“Eligible applicants will be anyone connected to Council’s potable water supply but with a focus on the Raumati, Paraparaumu and Waikanae area in the first instance.  They would have the opportunity to apply for an interest free loan over 10 years for approved devices which reduce the use of Council’s potable water supply.

“The loans would be repaid over 10 years through a targeted rate on the property and the loan would be registered on each property’s Land Information Memorandum.
“The proposal is for the scheme to be available over five years and we expect on average around 450 home owners  a year would take advantage of it at an all up interest cost to the District of around $2million over 10 years.

“Once we’ve had community feedback on the proposal we aim to make a decision on whether or not to proceed by June 24, 2010.  If we do proceed then we’ll develop criteria, policies and processes to make it available by mid-December 2010,” Mayor Rowan said.