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Restrictions on use and high water ratesSAVE OUR WATER FROM RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND HIGH WATER RATES
The Christchurch City Council has since last year been advertising in
newspapers and on billboards and signs, urging the public to conserve
water. This Council campaign is based on the slogan that EVERY DROP
COUNTS and people are asked to do things such as turn off the tap when
brushing their teeth. If the situation is so bad, what will it be like
if rural interests get their way and take many times more water than
they are taking at present?
The largest dairy farm in Canterbury uses half the quantity of water
consumed by the population of Christchurch. This farm and many other
similar farms have been allocated huge quantities of water free of
charge.They do not need to bother conserving any water or be concerned
about the contamination of streams, rivers and Christchurch's drinking
water.
If consent is given to the Central Plains Water Scheme, it will
irrigate 60,000 hectares west of Christchurch and have a dramatic
effect on the quantity and quality of the Christchurch water supply.
The Central Plains Water Trust has applied for water consents which
will allow it to take up to 51 times more water each day than the
Christchurch City Council takes on an average day.
Christchurch will end up with a depleted supply of badly contaminated water.
Rate payers will have to pay farmers to get back some of the water
which has been given to them free of charge. Rates will have to
increase to cover this cost and the cost of filtration plants and
chlorination. City residents could be subject to water restrictions,
such as only watering gardens and lawns by hand on one day each week.
At the same time farmers will be able to waste as much water as they
like because it costs them nothing. They have not been required by the
Canterbury Regional Council to install a water meter which would record
their water usage so no one has an accurate idea of how fast water
resources are being depleted.
Commercial properties in the city already pay water rates and once all
residential properties have water metres installed, residents will have
to pay water rates. It
is difficult to know how much will be charged for water but Auckland
City residents pay on average over $1,000 p.a. The water you use and
pay for will be like a drop in a giant bucket when compared with the
water used free of charge by a farmer.
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