Water supply and sanitation in New Zealand: Difference between revisions

The provision of water supply and sanitation in New Zealand is generally of good quality in urban areas. It is provided by local government territorial authorities, which include city councils in urban areas and district councils in rural areas. The legal framework includes the Health Act 1956, amended in 2007, the Local Government Act 2002 and the Resource Management Act 1991.

Much of rural New Zealand relies on collection of rainwater for water supply and septic tanks for sewage disposal.

Key data about the three waters is made publicly available in a National Performance Review. This review has been undertaken annually since 2008, to provide a performance assessment of water, wastewater, and stormwater service provision, and the protection of public health and the environment. The participants in the 2018-19 review have responsibility for jurisdictions covering 4,536,520 New Zealanders (approximately 93% of the population). ^[1]

The assets covered in the 2018-19 review are shown in this table.^[1]

The proportion of the population that receives reticulated water and wastewater services is shown in this table.^[1]

Average water and wastewater charges are slightly under $850 per year. However, water and wastewater charges vary significantly around New Zealand. Consumers in some areas are paying over three times as much as for water as those in other areas ($863/year versus $262/year). For wastewater, the range in charges is even greater at over ten times as much ($1,217 versus $116/year). In the most expensive jurisdiction, the average customer will have a water and wastewater bill of over $1,700. For those who depend on the single living-alone superannuation payment, the water and wastewater bill in the most expensive region constitutes over 8% of their income. For those dependent on the sole parent support payment, it constitutes more than 10% of their income.^[1]

New Zealand enjoys high rainfall, especially along its west coast and the country is notable for its many large, and sometimes braided rivers. However, although the population is relatively small, the population density in North Island is much greater than in South Island where most of the rain falls.

In New Zealand more than 10% of the population depends on roof-collected rainwater systems for their drinking water – especially in rural areas that are not served by municipal town water supplies. Roof-collected rainwater consumption is also popular because the general public has the perception that rainwater is “pure” and safe to drink. Indeed, the risk of disease arising from roof-collected rainwater consumption can be low, providing that the water is visibly clear, has little taste or smell and, most importantly, the storage and collection of rainwater is via a properly maintained tank and roof catchment system. ^[2]

The low level of water pollution and the relative abundance of rain-fall ensures that water shortages are relatively uncommon. Regional authorities provide abstraction, treatment and distribution infrastructure to most developed areas. Many municipal systems draw water from deep aquifers thus avoiding the cost of long pipelines. Some of these aquifer fed systems such as that serving Christchurch was of sufficiently good quality that no disinfection of final water was practised until the recent earthquake events. Following restoration of the network the water is no longer chlorinated. Water taken from shallower or less secure aquifers are at risk of contamination.

About 87% of the population receives drinking water from local authorities,^[3] including 53 District Councils and 5 Unitary Authorities.

Domestic water usage demand is relatively poorly documented with few authorities collecting relevant or reliable information and several relying exclusively on abstraction volumes as a surrogate for use.^[4] For example, in Nelson residential water use was estimated at 180 liters/person/day while total water use including commercial use and public buildings was estimated at 500 litre/person/day.^[5]

From 12 to 29 August 2016 the town of Havelock North experienced New Zealand's largest recorded outbreak of waterborne disease. Campylobacter entered the town's water supply. Of the town's 13,000 residents, 5,500 fell ill, 45 were hospitalised and four died.^[6]

In September 2016, the Government announced an Inquiry into the outbreak, in two stages. ^[7] Stage 1 focused on identifying what happened, what caused the outbreak, and assessing the conduct of those responsible for providing safe drinking water to Havelock North. Stage 2 of the Inquiry addressed lessons learned for the future and steps to be implemented to reduce the likelihood of such an outbreak occurring again. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

The drinking water for Havelock North was sourced from an aquifer under the Heretaunga Plains (the Te Mata aquifer) that was thought to be a confined aquifer secure from contaminants. The District Council did not treat water drawn from this aquifer before it was distributed to consumers. During a period of heavy rain, a paddock adjacent to the bore became inundated, and sheep faeces caused contamination of the bore water. The Inquiry found that in July 1998, there had been a previous incident of contamination of drinking water at Havelock North, but that the lessons from that incident had been forgotten. Another key finding was that several of the parties with responsibility for the water supply regime for Havelock North had failed to adhere to the high levels of care and diligence needed to protect public health and to avoid outbreaks of serious illness. The Inquiry concluded that a higher standard of care was needed, similar to that applied in the fields of medicine and aviation where the consequences of a failure could similarly be illness, injury or death.

The recommendations arising from Stage 2 of the Inquiry including wide-ranging proposals for legislative and regulatory changes to drive systematic improvements in the management of drinking water nationwide. The recommendations also included mandatory treatment of all drinking water networks and certain self-supplied systems, and the review of drinking water standards and guidelines. ^[11]

The Ministry of Health provides an annual report on the drinking-water quality of all registered networked drinking-water supplies serving populations of more than 100 people. The report for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 describes compliance with the requirements of the Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand and progress made towards meeting the requirements of the Health Act 1956.^[12]

All significant sized urban developments are served by municipal sewers which drain to modern treatment works with final discharges to river or the sea. Rural communities and isolated housing is served by septic tanks or by chemical toilets or earth closets depending on location and usage. The 135 wastewater treatment plants discharge into the following type of environment:^[13]

Estuary 5

Groundwater 8

Lake 1

Land 26

Long Sea Outfall 22

Near Shore Outfall 7

River/stream/drain 62

Wetland 4

In mid 2017, the Government launched a review of the regulation and supply arrangements of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater (three waters). This review ran in parallel with the later stages of the Inquiry into the Havelock North drinking water contamination of 2016. ^[14]

In 2019, the Government announced plans for regulatory changes in response to the Three Waters Review, including: ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

• establish a new, dedicated drinking water regulator
• extend regulatory coverage to all drinking water suppliers, except individual household self-suppliers
• provide a multi-barrier approach to drinking water treatment and safety
• strengthen government oversight and stewardship of wastewater and stormwater services
• provide transitional arrangements of up to five years to allow water suppliers to adjust to the regulations.

The Water Services Regulator Bill was introduced to Parliament on 12 Dec 2019. ^[19]

On 28 January 2020, the Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta, released Cabinet papers and minutes setting out intentions for reform of service delivery and funding arrangements for the three waters services nationwide.^[20]

The Cabinet paper referred to two key challenges facing New Zealand's three waters service delivery: affordability and capability. The paper referred to the cumulative effect of increasing capital and operating costs to meet infrastructure challenges, and constrained sector capability to address key public health and environmental challenges. It noted that these challenges are particularly acute for smaller council and non-council drinking water suppliers, with smaller ratepayer and consumer funding bases. The paper described the current situation (in most regions), where Councils supply and manage water systems and services alongside their other duties. A transition is envisaged, to a next stage where water services are fully 'ring-fenced' from other council services, with charges for ratepayers specifically identifying the water services in their rates. At this stage, Councils may share service provision with other councils. The final stage envisaged in the paper is the full transfer of asset ownership of the water assets to a new entity governed by an independent Board of Directors, and with specialist employees who would focus on water services.

The Government indicated that it would work in partnership with local government to explore options for transitioning councils to new service delivery arrangements, seeking safer, more affordable and reliable three waters services. The first step was to support the investigation of opportunities within regions for collaborative approaches to water service delivery.^[21]

As an initial step towards the proposed reforms, on 27 January 2020 the Government announced funding of $1.55m for an investigation of opportunities for greater coordination in three waters service delivery across the Hawke's Bay region, involving five councils: Napier City Council, Hastings District Council, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, Wairoa District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.^[22]

In February 2020, the Auditor-General published a report reviewing how well public organisations are managing water resources and delivering water-related services. In the introduction to the report, the Auditor-General observed a lack of clarity about the issues in managing the three waters, how to address them, and who will deliver programmes of work. The statement called for improved national leadership. ^{[23] [24]}

In 2009, the country's infrastructure for drinking water was valued at about NZ$11 billion. For the years 2009 to 2019, local authorities' operational expenditure for supplying drinking water was projected at an average of NZ$605 million each year, and the average annual capital expenditure at NZ$390 million.^[3]

In most of New Zealand, the cost of water supply and sewage disposal is recovered from house holders through property tax as a percentage of the rateable value of the property. In urban Auckland, water use is metered and charged separately from rates.^[25]

• Water in New Zealand
• List of water supply and sanitation by country

• Water New Zealand