Wellington’s Wasted Water

How much water does wellington lose every single day?

In Wellington, water leaks are a bigproblem. Despite the city's beauty and energy, underneath lies a challenge:water leaks. Every day, Wellington loses a huge amount of water - a whopping40%! That's like losing 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools every single day. It'snot just a problem for the city; it's something everyone needs to work togetherto fix.

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What is the council doing aboutWellington’s Water Problem?

At first, the focus was on fixing leaksin the council's networks. Now, attention is turning to leaks on privateproperties. Wellington Water encourages property owners to fix leaks, but it'snot their job to do it for them. The councils decide on things like puttingwater meters in homes and improving infrastructure, which helps pay forWellington Water's work.

It's really important to invest more infixing and replacing old pipelines that haven't been taken care of for years.Reports show that the drinking water network is getting worse, and if we don'tinvest in fixing it soon, we might face even stricter water rules.

This shows how serious Wellington'swater problem is because of all the leaks. We need to work together to upgradeour infrastructure and invest more in fixing leaks. It's not about blaminganyone but about everyone working together. And if you've got leaks at home,it's worth fixing them - it might be cheaper than you think.

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How does private water leaks affect the supply?

One reason for the water waste comesfrom leaks on private properties. Finding and fixing these leaks is reallyhard, making it tough to control how much water is lost. Wellington Water isresponsible for managing water services in the city, but it's tricky becausethe pipes are old, some even over 100 years old, and stretch over 2,543kilometers.

Especially in dry seasons, waterbecomes scarce, making it even more important to save water. The city is tryingto fix the leaks - they repaired 1,341 of them in October and November alone.But finding skilled people to help find and fix leaks is a big challenge thatneeds creative solutions.

What do plumbers think of Wellington's water wastage?

Plumber Howard White from LB White sayswe shouldn't point fingers but instead join forces. It's a call for everyone -councils, businesses, residents, and water authorities - to work together toprotect Wellington's water. Now is the time to act together to solve this bigchallenge and make sure Wellington has a secure water future. Let's start byraising awareness and then taking action to build a strong and thriving city.

*For reference to this information seearticle: Wellington losing 27 Olympic swimmingpools of water a day through leaks

Additional reference to Wellington Water Priorities

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