'Unwise' to lift Auckland's water restrictions despite price hikes - Watercare CEO

The new head of Watercare says it would be "unwise" to lift Auckland's ban on sprinklers and unattended hoses, keeping restrictions on despite prices going up.

Normally at this time of year, the city's dams are about 77 percent full - but a year-and-a-half into the drought, they're at 49.5 percent, despite residents saving billions of litres so far. 

"What I'm asking for is Aucklanders to carry on doing all the right things that they are doing right now," Watercare CEO Jon Lamonte told The AM Show on Tuesday.

"Aucklanders are doing a fantastic job. Between them we've saved 17 billion litres of water. That's the equivalent of our second-largest dam. This is really good, whether it's keeping showers to a minimum, whether it's being really careful on keeping to the restrictions, use of a hose with a handheld trigger - all of those things are working."

Watercare is currently looking at how to stop shortages happening again over the next 20 years, during which time Auckland is likely to add close to another half-million people. 

"I think we're in much better shape than we were a year ago. Partly because we've had two plants we've expanded, two new plants that have come online, and our biggest water treatment plant that we're bringing online is due to be commissioned next month," said Lamonte. 

"So we're in far better shape this year to deal with whatever comes our way. Yes of course we're hoping for more rainfall this winter, but we're getting ready just in case there's a dry spring."

From July, prices will go up 7 percent - followed by a similar increase in 2022, then even bigger hikes of 9.5 percent for the rest of the decade. Infrastructure growth charges are also going up - 12 percent from July, then 8 percent a year. The result will be the price of water doubling in a decade. 

"If we're going to have a plan of investment - a massive investment - over the next 20 years, it's got to be funded somehow," Lamonte said. "We've got to either look at borrowing or price increases." 

Watercare reportedly considered even bigger hikes, but decided they'd make water unaffordable for many residents. But it's also struggling to borrow, with owner Auckland Council close to its debt-to-revenue level thanks to COVID-19, which reduced its income. 

"If we can't get the borrowing, I need to have the price increases," said Lamonte, who's doing his bit to help by taking a salary of $585,000 - nearly $200,000 less than his predecessor Raveen Jaduram, who quit last year.

Jon Lamonte.
Jon Lamonte. Photo credit: The AM Show

Building a new dam would "take a long time simply because of the consents" said Lamonte, who's "looking at things we can get done now" - such as getting more water from the Waikato and finding ways to reuse water. 

"If there are places we can reuse water, why wouldn't we do that? So if it's golf courses, if it's sports facilities, wouldn't we use it there?"

Before taking on the job at Watercare, Lamont spent two years as the head of Australia's biggest public transport project - the 46-station, 113km Sydney Metro. He's previously worked on transport projects in Manchester and London, and spent 15 years as a fighter pilot in the RAF, flying missions in Iraq and Kosovo.