Waikato assist Auckland water shortage crisis
Waikato assist Auckland water shortage crisis
Friday 31 July, 2020
As a result of an urgent summit between Waikato-Tainui, Waikato River Authority, Waikato Regional Council and Watercare, an agreement ‘in principle’ has been reached to reallocate 25 million litres of water a day from Hamilton City Councils own consented take as an interim measure to help ease the drought crisis in Auckland.
Although it was initially proposed Auckland would pay for the water, the take is being considered a “gift” and Auckland will not have to pay. However, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has stated Auckland will be giving back to the Waikato River by paying several million dollars to a trust to remediate and restore the river.
At the same time, Auckland Council’s resource consent application to the Waikato Regional Council for a water take, filed seven years ago, has been “called in” under Part 6AA of the Resource Management Act 1991. The consent application is to take an extra 200 million litres per day from the Waikato River, doubling its current take. Part 6AA gives the Minister of the Environment powers to refer an application for resource consent to a Board of Inquiry or the Environment Court where the Minister considers that a matter is of national importance.
Minister David Parker said the prospect of the largest city in the country running out of drinking water was a matter of national significance and has therefore been referred to a Board of Inquiry. However, in making its decision, the Board of Inquiry has been asked to consider affordable alternatives such as desalination plants and treated wastewater. The Board must make its decision within 9 months.
Prior to being “called in”, the application sat 100th in the queue. Part 6AA has allowed Auckland Council to sidestep the RMA principle of hearing applications on a “first-in-first-serve” basis. The consent is critical for the long-term security of Auckland’s water supply for the next decade.
