Dive deep into our water
The Three Waters Reform will change the way critical water infrastructure and services are delivered in our district.
This entity will cover an area from Gisborne in the North Island to Tasman in the South Island with about 1 million water connections.
Wastewater
We own and maintain more than 21,000 connections and 5,400 access chambers to 350 kilometres of sewers, which handle a volume of 4,700 million litres per year.
Over 150 pumping stations work to carry what you flush down your toilet to our treatment stations.
We have two treatment plants:
- Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati are served by a single wastewater treatment plant in Paraparaumu treating approximately 10 million litres of wastewater every day.
- The Otaki Wastewater Treatment Plant serves an estimated population of 6,000 and also treats wastewater from local commercial and industrial facilities.
- Paekākāriki uses septic tanks. Rural areas of the district rely on onsite disposal, septic tanks or community package wastewater treatment plants.
We monitor our network in real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’re alerted immediately if there are issues or a pumpstation isn’t working.
Drinking water
Our water is sourced from various locations around the district and we're responsible for the management and maintenance of its assets like treatment plants, reservoirs, pump stations and the reticulation network.
We supply safe water to approximately 20,000 connections for household and commercial use.
Water in Ōtaki, Hautere, Te Horo and Paekākāriki comes from a variety of local bore sources
Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati are supplied water from the Waikanae River
There are hundreds of private bores throughout Kāpiti, too.
All of our public drinking water is tested and treated with chlorine and high-intensity UV light and pH corrected to make sure it’s safe to drink.
Daily water consumption:
- Waikanae – 4,638,000 litres
- Paraparaumu / Raumati – 7,766,000 litres
- Paekākāriki – 412,900 litres
- Ōtaki – 3,046,000 litres
Council purchased land in 2012 for a future dam site behind the hills of Nikau Valley.
With the current river recharge scheme and water metering, our community will not need to invest in the new dam for up to 50 year.
Stormwater is the run-off from rainfall through natural and urban pathways
We provide a stormwater system to manage water run-off from Kāpiti's urban catchments, while protecting the receiving environment, ensuring water quality and reducing risks to human life, health and property from flooding.
Our stormwater network is made up of pipes, manholes, pump stations, open waterways, sumps and sump leads, kerb outlets, wetlands, overland flow paths, public soak pits, bridges, culverts and swales. Ponds, private pipes, private soak pits, gutters and down pipes, and storage devices also form part of the wider stormwater network.
We're changing how we look at and manage our stormwater.
We operate and maintain 210km of stormwater pipes and a vast network of open channels and streams across the district.
But we have work to do – half of this infrastructure may not cope with flows from a 1-in-10-year flood
We are working on a large capital work programme of 240 stormwater projects, to be delivered over the next 37 years.
Three waters reform
The Water Services Entities Bill, which will give legal effect to the establishment of the proposed four water service entities, has its first reading and has been referred to Select Committee. A National Transition Unit for implementing the Government’s plans has been established. We continue to respond to requests for information and await further detail on how the transition will progress.
Of the $2 billion package committed to the reforms, the total allocation for Kāpiti is $21.05 million.
Councils were able to apply for their pro rata share of a $500 million first tranche of funding (the ‘better-off’ allocation) from April 2022. This can be used to support the three waters service delivery reform objectives and other local wellbeing outcomes. In this tranche, the allocation for the Kāpiti Coast is $5.26 million, and we are currently working on our application. The remaining funds are dependent on the creation of the new entities and them borrowing $1.5 billion.
Further detail regarding a ‘no worse off’ funding package is expected soon. This fund aims to address the costs and financial impacts on councils resulting from the reform and transfer of assets, liabilities and revenues.
We've expressed a view that while we support the overarching principles and objectives of the reform, we have real concerns about the planned approach which it sees as one size fits all, overly complex and difficult to implement.
We're concerned about governance and ownership aspects of the proposed model - specifically, loss of control and connection - and in particular how each council’s priorities would be acknowledged and delivered, and how the voice of local communities would be retained.
We remain of the view that financial modelling supporting the reform proposals does not accurately reflect the Kāpiti situation, and projected future financial benefits of the reforms are very uncertain for Kāpiti.
We are committed to achieving positive three waters outcomes for our community, and we will continue to advocate for our district’s interests.
We are asking the Government for a fair deal. Investing in maintaining and upgrading our three waters infrastructure means it is in good condition, however we have borrowed money to achieve this. Losing three waters assets also impacts our ability to borrow for other community-based infrastructure and improvements. We want to ensure that our ratepayers are appropriately reimbursed.
The short answer is we don’t know yet. No detailed information on what ratepayers will be charged by Water Entity C for water services has been released yet.
Most properties in the district currently have water meters, and you are charged for the water you use. Water rates help pay for water collection and treatment facilities, our water supply network and water conservation measures. Ratepayers will continue to pay for the delivery of these services under the proposed new model.
We’ve invested heavily in our water infrastructure and we’re in good shape because of it. As further taxpayer funding has not been committed, Kāpiti residents could end up subsidise future investment in other districts where there is an infrastructure deficit.
We are currently advancing significant projects to deliver improved environmental outcomes and build capacity across our drinking water, wastewater and stormwater networks.
There are several reasons why we’re pushing ahead with this critical work. With our growing population and in the face of our changing climate, delaying or cancelling work is kicking the can down the road.
We are committed to delivering the best outcomes for our community which means we can’t lose two years’ worth of progress, especially as we don’t know how much of a priority Kāpiti infrastructure will be for the new entity. There are also new and evolving standards we must continue to meet as a water supplier to remain compliant with Taumata Arowai, New Zealand’s water services regulator.
Continuing to plan for the future is our way of committing to and protecting the vision and aspirations of iwi partners and our community before we lose our ability to do so. We expect to be reimbursed appropriately for all debt relating to investment in water assets, including any incurred between now and transition on 1 July 2024.
The Government has made the decision to progress the reforms nationally through legislation. Progression of this legislation includes the opportunity for public submissions through the Select Committee process.
We will be reiterating our concerns through submissions at each opportunity and encourages our community to do the same to ensure our local voice is heard.
The closing date for submissions is Friday, 22 July 2022