Word from Mayor Kirsten Wise

Published: 22 December 2024

Kia ora koutou.

Summer arrived suddenly this year with a stretch of very hot weather in early December. Our water use shot up. We put in place water restrictions much earlier than in previous years as we implement restrictions when our daily water use gets to a certain level.

At some points in November and December we were using over 37,000 cubic metres a day. Our daily winter water use is about 17,000 cubic metres. It doubles in summer because of all those behaviours we associate with a sunny day: washing the car, using the sprinkler, topping up the swimming pool.

The amount of water we can take as a city is capped by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council who manages the region’s environmental resources. This won’t be increased as our city grows. We need to change behaviours so we are living within our means and can accommodate everyone’s needs.

Alongside behaviour change and changing habits, we need to change the way water services are delivered. We can’t keep doing things the way they’ve always been done and expect a different result. We must invest in infrastructure, and we need to rethink how we pay for water services and how we charge for delivering water.

2025 is going to be a pivotal year for water as we progress with the changes required by central government, and it’s a conversation the whole community needs to be part of. Who delivers water, who plans for its future supply, who fixes leaks and replaces pumps, how things are paid for, and who pays what are all part of that conversation.

At home, this is a good time to think about your water use. Fix leaks, cover the pool, use a bucket when you’re washing the car, use a hose for the garden not a sprinkler. Bigger changes need a community conversation. 

Look out for ways to find out more about the options open to us, and opportunities to share your views. Our goal is for our city and region to have clean, safe, reliable water supply, in sufficient quantities through a resilient network. Getting there takes all of us, in little ways and big ones. We need to rethink water and we need to value what we have and look after it in the best way we can.

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