Council dilutes Metrowater’s obligations to the planet

At today’s Auckland City Council Finance & Strategy Committee, the Citizen’s & Ratepayers (C&R) councillors cut out vital environmental protection and water quality requirements for Metrowater, a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO).

Metrowater will no longer be required to do its bit for the planet in terms of combating climate change, nor will it be required to maintain the existing low level of water quality complaints. C&R councillors also voted down an attempt to ban Metrowater from using water restriction as a method of debt enforcement.

Cr Richard Northey said, “For the public the most vital requirements of a water supply are certainty of water flow and an assurance that it is clean and safe. Until now, Metrowater has been required to ‘maintain existing low level of water quality complaints to demonstrate leadership in public health and water quality’. C&R councillors voted to delete this existing safeguard. I am very anxious that Metrowater will no longer give priority to ensuring its water is clean and safe.”

Councillor Glenda Fryer said “I know the Councillor Armstrong, the Chair of the Finance Committee is a climate change sceptic, but most Aucklanders want to know that Metrowater is doing all it can to prevent the disastrous effects of climate change and is reducing its carbon footprint.

“Removing Metrowater’s climate change requirements in these dying days of Auckland City Council sets a bad precedent for Watercare who will take over from Metrowater. I can only hope the new Board of Watercare is more environmentally aware than C&R councillors are.”

Councillor Cathy Casey said “At every meeting of the Finance Committee this term, I have tried to get Metrowater to stop using water restrictions as a means of getting people to pay their bills. The only control that Council has over Metrowater is through its Statement of Corporate Intent (SOI), which is its binding agreement with Council. In its sign off of Metrowater’s SOI today, C&R councillors today voted to allow Metrowater to continue its heartless practice of restricting people’s water because they can’t pay their bills.”

ENDS

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