Three Waters Governance under Auckland Reorganisation

The Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill 2009, for which submissions to Select Ctte close 26th of June, provides for Watercare Services to "plan and manage integration of water supply and wastewater services" in s.24. (It does this by amending the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009, as it happens.)

It is essential there are strong submissions on this provision.

It is essential that - if there is to be vertically integrated management of Auckland's water economy - then this must also include stormwater. It must be the 3 waters.

Some argue that, because stormwater is essentially local, it falls locally, then its management should sit with land use planning, transport programmes (gutters are used to carry stormwater flows), and other community programmes (rain is nice and fuzzy and good for environmental education and drains and what happens when it all gets to the sea - sort of stuff).

I completely disagree with this approach. In my time (6 years) on North Shore City Council, which does have vertically integrated wastewater - it managed local sewer network and Rosedale wastewater treatment plant - the benefits of 3 water management were recognised by senior staff, councillors and public alike.

We have a tui feeder in our garden. I put sugar water in it every morning - I forget the odd day. They come along and preen and perform. And they sing...

You cannot separate stormwater from water supply and wastewater. Stormwater infiltration is the single biggest challenge to wastewater reticulation and treatment - they become intwined in the pipe network. Their integrated management is essential.

Rainwater is a component of water supply - for non-potable uses (washing machines and toilet flushing). Many homes in the region rely soley on rainwater for their supply of all water.

Wastewater across the region is NOT all reticulated. Many homes have onsite systems. Many of these are very modern and competently engineered.

It is simply not good enough to charge Watercare with managing the "easy" bit, the piped bit, the metered and attractive to privatise bit - when there is so much more to water, wastewater and stormwater.

Watercare has had a poor record in my view across the region, because it has been so focussed on end-of-pipe solutions. This stance is why Auckland has seen Eco-water at Waitakere, Manukau Water at Manukau, North Shore's 3 water division - all active in managing 3 waters together, across their territorial areas - not just end of pipe. If this vertical integration is to proceed, then that expertise must then be retained in Watercare, and its role and responsibility must move to include also: on-site wastewater systems; the new stormwater systems that have evolved across North Shore, Waitakere, Manukau which are based on streams, ponds, detention and riparian planting - rather than pipes and concrete outfalls; and rainwater collection systems.