Wellington area councils are being warned against big spending on water infrastructure investments by Audit NZ. Due to severe deterioration in the pipes serving much of the area, many authorities are looking to enhance their investment. Audit NZ has however raised concerns that the local contracting sector is not capable of delivering on service level agreements.
The auditors are also indicating a lack of information concerning this investment. They reported missing data on hundreds of kilometres of critical pipes. Wellington Water had been requested to assess the 450 kilometres of the city’s pipes but had only done so on 10 kilometres.
This is not the first time Wellington Water has come up short. In December 2020, Audit NZ was unable to source reliable data from the authority on the amount of water lost through leaks, incidents of sewage overflows, and customer complaints received.
Mayor Campbell Barry of Lower Hutt has highlighted three key problems that are affecting water supply. These include lack of investment in previous decades, an aging infrastructure, and population growth in the region. He said that these issues were forcing the council to make investments now. As part of its Long-Term Plan (LTP), the Hutt City council is looking to double its capital investment and quadruple spending on water infrastructure renewals.
Wellington City has been similarly affected and has suffered frequent incidents of pipes bursting. It is looking to invest $2.7 billion in this infrastructure over the next decade. Porirua City is also looking to spend $1.1 billion over the same period.
To meet these projected costs, Wellington residents will likely need to dig deeper into their pockets. Rates are expected to rise by as much as 17%. This steep increase may come as a shock for ratepayers but is considered necessary in resolving the water infrastructure problems plaguing the city.
Audit NZ has pointed out that such initiatives come with a high risk of uncertainty that the councils can deliver on the programs, more so when the budgets are being increased considerably. The auditors are yet to submit a final report to Wellington City but are expected to do so in the coming week.
Wellington Water, which is responsible for the region’s water network, does not disagree with this opinion. Their manager of network development and delivery, Tonia Haskell, is concerned about the lack of engineers for this undertaking and who will likely need to be sourced from abroad.
Audit NZ’s Mike Heine has confirmed that delays in major consultation documents were not unusual and that the auditor was still collaborating with the council to acquire the needed information that would guide their audit opinion. Wellington Mayor, Andy Foster, indicated understanding the need for Audit NZ to receive relevant information before signing off on the draft LTP.