Lake Hāwea township has some of the highest per capita demand for water in the district and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has mitigation plans underway which may include water meters and restrictions.

Pressure on the township’s existing scheme is predominantly caused by very high usage rates, QLDC property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery told the Wānaka App.

On an average day, demand is more than four times the national standard (1,045 litres/connection vs. 250 litres/connection) in the township, and that demand increases to almost six times the national standard on a peak day (3,421 litres vs. 600 litres). 

QLDC hopes to avoid supply issues as the population grows by taking steps to mitigate demand, Tony said. 

Tony said the introduction of smart water meters would “provide insights” at a household and township level to inform water demand management initiatives.

Hāwea smart water meter trials would follow existing trials in Glenorchy and Luggate, he said, which would also help inform next steps on rolling out metering to other parts of the district.

He said charging for water use would not be introduced without detailed community consultation.

Council is also looking at meeting the township’s water supply needs through ongoing capacity upgrades to the borefield and making changes to the network, which could include “beefing up injection of treated water directly into the network (largely how the scheme is supplied now), upsizing and adding new pipelines to provide larger volumes and reach newly developing areas, and increasing reservoir storage to add capacity”, he said. 

“A small number of scheme-level options have been identified (covering abstraction, treatment, storage and distribution). Between now and the end of the year we’ll be refining, costing and evaluating these options further. We expect to have a preferred solution for the network confirmed in early 2024.

“In the very near term, we have also budgeted to increase capacity at the current borefield (located within Scotts Beach Reserve on the lakeshore) in the 2024-25 financial year.”

He added that even if current levels of demand continue, “the scheme will not simply run out of water”.

“It is likely residents may be subject to more frequent and/or longer water restrictions during peak times.” 

 PHOTO: Wānaka App