Government audit commends Council’s approach to supplying drinking water

The recently released Auditor-General’s report, Managing the supply of and demand for drinking water, shows that the Kāpiti Coast District Council is setting a good example in their future-focused approach to supplying drinking water. The report was presented to the House of Representatives yesterday following an audit of four councils’ approaches to supplying drinking water.

Mayor K Gurunathan is extremely pleased with the results, and says the results are timely given the water management discussions going on across the country.

“The report highlights that the Kāpiti Coast District Council takes a very different approach to supplying drinking water when compared to the other Councils audited.

“The Council’s strategic focus on the whole system means we’re leading the way on many fronts. This includes reducing water use, detecting and repairing leaks, future-proofing, working with Iwi, gathering data, and supporting our residents on water-related matters, including affordability and leak repair,” said the Mayor.  

“We’ve made a significant financial and strategic commitment to improving the District’s water supply in recent years, and while this hasn’t been popular with everyone, the community as a whole is really starting to see the benefits.”

Since introducing water meters in 2015, 75% of ratepayers pay less for water than they would if the Council stayed with the previous one size fits all approach for managing water supply.

“Peak daily water use has decreased by about 25% since introducing water meters, and we’re one of only a handful of Councils who didn’t have to put water restrictions in place over summer,” the Mayor said.

“While we acknowledge that every council has its own unique circumstances we believe it’s in the interests of all councils to move to a more sustainable long-term approach to supplying their drinking water.”