Water and wastewater prices to increase from 1 July 2021

1/06/2021
Prices for water and wastewater services in Auckland will increase by 7 per cent from 1 July 2021.

Chief executive Jon Lamonte says we will soon publish our latest Asset Management Plan detailing how we will invest an average of $2.5 million every day for the next 20 years.
 
“An incredible amount of work goes into providing top quality drinking water and treating the city’s wastewater so it can be safely returned to the environment.
 
“Our Asset Management Plan recognises that a higher level of investment is needed to support our growing city in a climate-resilient way.”
 
The price path for water and wastewater services, as well as infrastructure growth charges (IGCs), is aligned with the Asset Management Plan.

Up until now, our annual price increases have been about 3 per cent. However, the impact Covid-19 has had on the Auckland Council group’s revenue means we are not able to borrow as much as ideal.
 
“This creates a funding gap, leaving us with no option but to revise our pricing path to allow us to continue providing our essential services and building critical infrastructure,” Lamonte says.
 
“For most Auckland households, this year’s seven per cent increase equates to about an extra $1.50 a week.”
 
Our price path, submitted for inclusion in the Auckland Council’s Long-Term Plan, proposes another increase of 7 per cent on 1 July 2022, followed by annual price increases of 9.5 percent through to 2029, and then increases of 3.5 percent in 2030 and 2031.
 
IGCs will increase by 12 per cent from 1 July 2021, followed by proposed annual increases of 8 per cent through to 2027.
 
Lamonte says IGCs, as well as borrowings, are used to fund growth-related infrastructure to ensure existing customers are not overly subsidising new customers or future generations.
 
“Giving our customers a fair deal is important to us. This is why people who build new houses, and businesses that expand their operations, pay infrastructure growth charges. The money we collect from these charges, along with what we borrow, pays for projects needed to cater to our growing city so that our existing customers are not faced with excessive water and wastewater costs.”

For more information on the new charges, click here.