Wellington's new water bill: many who want to pay can't – and those who can dread the next one

What happened

Since July, households in Wellington, Lower and Upper Hutt and Porirua no longer pay for water through council rates but through a separate bill from the new regional water entity Tiaki Wai. On average, charges are rising by about 13.3 percent this year to around 2,390 New Zealand dollars a year. Forecasts suggest bills could exceed 6,000 dollars within a decade.

As RNZ reported on Monday, hundreds of direct-debit arrangements have still not been set up. Tiaki Wai blames mainly incomplete or incorrect forms and calls it teething trouble; outstanding amounts are to be spread across the rest of the financial year. In mid-October it emerged that just over 30,000 customer accounts – 18.5 percent – had not yet paid their first quarterly bill, leaving about 21 million dollars outstanding. Second bills are being sent from late October.

For now there are no late-payment penalties and nobody's water will be cut off. The Commerce Commission will not cap prices because affordability is outside its remit, and the government has ruled out Crown funding for Wellington's pipes, neglected over decades.

The mood on the ground

A pensioner told RNZ she had submitted her direct-debit form back in August so she could spread her roughly 2,500 dollars in annual costs evenly. Now she would have to cover the amount over eight or nine months, upsetting her budget planning, and some people would not cope at all. She believes many are behind not out of unwillingness but because the systems were not ready. RNZ received further messages from people who want to pay but cannot because of the delays.

A budget adviser in Porirua said renters face higher rents to cover water costs and often cut back on food as a result. Pensioners can mostly absorb this year's increase but worry about the years ahead, and some are putting off repairs to their homes. Nearly 500 customers have already raised financial hardship with Tiaki Wai.

When the first bills arrived in August, households told 1News they had added up their new totals and found noticeable increases; a Lower Hutt homeowner spoke of a sense of helplessness, and a Petone couple called the deductions alarming. In August, around 300 people marched through the city centre in protest at water prices.

Mayor Andrew Little is sympathetic to the agency, saying that moving tens of thousands of accounts onto an entirely new system was always going to cause problems. At the same time, he expects pressure on the government to grow to fix its water reform.

Voices from the media