Published 6/09/2024
Wellington Water encouraged by drop in annual average water loss in the Metropolitan region
New figures from Wellington Water show a slight reduction in water loss over the past financial year as the region gets closer to summer and Water Restriction Level 1 at the end of the month.
“We recently ran the annual water loss numbers for the 2023/2024 financial year and estimate that the total average water loss in the Metropolitan Wellington region over the past financial year has dropped by 3%, from 44% to 41%, which includes both public and private leaks,” says Wellington Water’s Acting CE, Charles Barker.
While these estimated annual averages show only a slight reduction in water loss compared to the previous financial year, a continued reduction in overall demand (use and loss) and increased leak repairs give us confidence that water loss has continued to reduce across the region. The result is a reflection of increased funding from many of our councils being made available in the second half of the financial year, and the associated increased leak repair work starting in late January 2024 or later. With ongoing funding for leak repairs, we expect that the region will see a further reduction in annual water loss for the current financial year when we run the annual water loss numbers again in July 2025.
“These estimates are a good initial indicator of the positive impact our councils’ additional investment has had on water loss – but we can’t take our foot off the pedal. We know that while leak repairs provide a short-term solution, preventative pipe renewals are also critical to keeping water loss at a sustainable level.
“With the region only forecasting to renew around 9kms of pipe across all three water networks this year based on available council funding, we need to remember that this critical piece of the puzzle is also needed to achieve longer-term outcomes.
“We have also seen how increased investment from councils and our team’s increased ability to fix leaks have had a positive impact on the backlog across the region. The total number of open leaks in the system has reduced by around 57% over the past eight months with 1,261 open leaks at 26 August 2024; down from over 3,000 in January 2024.
“It’s also important to note that these numbers include both public leaks as well as private leaks. Only 664 of the current 1,261 open leaks jobs are on the public network so encouraging residents to get on top of fixing their leaks will be something we need to focus on this year,” adds Charles.
To significantly reduce the risk of an acute water shortage or Level 4 Water Restrictions during an average summer, Taumata Arowai, councils and Wellington Water have agreed to a goal of reducing overall water demand (this includes water loss and water use) by 7.4 million litres per day by February 2025. A combination of operational activities are being implemented to reach this goal. This includes various water loss reduction activities such as leak repairs, pressure management and pipe renewals.
“We are currently on track to meet the 7.4 million litres per day goal. While this is good to see, there’s still much work to do and it’s important that we all understand that the region still faces a risk of entering Water Restriction Level 3,” says Charles.
“The likelihood of Level 3 is still to be determined and will be dependent on a range of factors, including the weather. We are currently waiting on NIWA’s updated outlook which is due out in October. Once we have this, we will run our model on the risk of restrictions and provide that to our councils, regulators and the public as we did last year.
“This means that we will need the public to yet again help us to get through this summer when it comes to watching their water use, as we have in previous years. We know it’s frustrating to be asked to keep an eye on your water use where there are leaks on the street, so Wellington Water and councils will continue working hard to hold up our end of the bargain by finding and fixing as many leaks as we can as we head into the summer months.
“Residents can help do their bit by keeping up their good water habits and finding small, simple and sensible ways to keep an eye on their wai. Every little bit counts – whether it’s taking shorter showers, turning the tap off when brushing your teeth and fixing leaks at your place.
Wellington City, Hutt City, and Porirua City will enter Water Restrictions Level 1 at 12:01am on Sunday 29 September. These cities will join Upper Hutt City and the South Wairarapa District who maintain Water Restrictions Level 1 all year round.
At Water Restrictions Level 1 the public are asked to only use sprinklers every second day, split between even and odd street numbers. Even numbered houses can use their sprinklers on even numbered days, and odd numbered houses on odd numbered days.
Visit Wellington Water’s website to find out more about Water Restrictions and what you can do to keep an eye on our wai at home.
Editor notes
Wellington Water is owned and fully funded by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, and Upper Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and South Wairarapa District Council. All six councils are equal shareholders.
Our councils own the water infrastructure in the region, and they task us to manage the infrastructure and deliver water services to our communities.
Wellington Water is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board and our organisation receive overall leadership and direction from the Wellington Water Committee, which are also responsible for appointing members to the Board.
The Wellington Water Committee is made up of representatives from our council owners and mana whenua.
A more detailed overview of the region's water loss and demand can be found in this factsheet.