Water update #3: Rain but little in our key catchments – what Watercare says…

Nick Hanvey – Infrastructure Operations Manager

Our Infrastructure Operations Manager, Nick Hanvey, was recently invited to join a special presentation, Watercare Top 50 Customers Breakfast Briefing, targeted at Auckland’s top 50 water users, joining representatives from Sanfords, Bluebird Foods, Auckland Council and Eden Park Sports Trust.

Nick shared with us some of the key points made by the presenters including MetService scientists and Watercare specialists.

The forecast ahead

• The drought actually started 18 months ago and this period includes two of the driest periods in history; January to June 2019 and October 2019 to April 2020
• Winter rainfall expectations are for low rain – despite the rain we’ve had to date in July, which is traditionally the wettest month of the year
• La Nina conditions are expected and are on the way already with sea temperatures around the equator already dropping significantly
• Using ‘ensemble forecasting’, which uses multiple simulations and different weather models (100 in this research) to establish a common theme, there is a very clear signal for a significantly dry spring

Key factors impacting our water shortage

The largest contributors to the reduced water storage levels, apart from the drought, are attributed to:

• 

  Despite a large proportion of the North Island being battered with rain last week, very little fell in the Hūnua dam catchments and total water storage is still far below what it would normally be in July

  COVID-19 – being at home during lockdown meant we used more water than usual as we did a lot more outdoor tasks including watering our garden and washing down our property

• Construction – Auckland has experienced a significant increase in construction which uses huge volumes of water for dust control (legislative requirement), preparing and curing concrete, washing aggregates and sites, and much more
• Many people and businesses who rely on tank water/rainfall collection, resorted to restoring their water levels with full water tanker deliveries throughout the dry summer 

Solutions and challenges…

• Ideally water sources are kept sustainable via diversity: Reduce use, develop new water sources and increase recycling – grey water use is something we should be doing or at least exploring how we can do this
• When considering drought resilience, we are rain dependant at present using rivers and dams, so we need to move to non-rain dependant options such as re-use or desalination
• Watercare have been doing significant work for the last decade to deal with potential drought situations and this includes additional take from the Waikato, a new dam in the Waitakere Ranges, and increased capacity at the Redoubt Reservoir and Ardmore Treatment Plant. Lengthy RMA hold ups mean that some of this is still some years away.
• Watercare operates 14 water supply reservoirs which supply about 80 per cent of Auckland’s water.
• The RMA does not currently allow the use of treated waste water (even to a potable standard – safe drinking water) which is probably the cheapest and most sustainable source of water for construction

Where to now…?

In the right-hand panel, you can read more about the actions we are taking on our campuses to save water and also about some of the projects Watercare is working on to source more water, including the construction of a new mobile chemical dosing unit in a portable shipping container.

So keep doing your best to save water at home, check out the links below for tips, and as Watercare says… Remember, every litre we save now is another litre we will have available this summer.

More info:

• Check out our last updates on the Nest water saving tips:
  > The Nest: Superheroes save water: Why we need to get involved in water conservation now and for the longer term»
  > The Nest: Superheroes save water #2: Despite rain our dams continue to drop – what you can do!
• Water for life.org.nz
• Watercare – Drought response

What are we doing at Unitec to reduce water use and to develop more sustainable options for the long term?

1. Aerators: Plans are underway to install aerators, which will reduce the flow of water from taps. These will be installed, as we complete upgrades and as we make our final moves to centralise our Mt Albert campus, upgrade kitchen and bathroom facilities as required, and complete utility works associated with the ‘de-coupling’ of services from Crown land

2. Toilets and urinals: We have been replacing urinals/toilets in the teaching blocks with newer water saving models, rather than the old style constant flushing facilities

3. Trades: Work is underway on saving water used in teaching of trades at the moment. We are installing a water tank for trades plumbing services so that during teaching on their new Rinnai system, the water used is being recycled back into the system, instead of heading into the waste water drain

Latest update from Watercare on projects to create new sources

Work is progressing on various projects that will provide more water for Aucklanders in time for summer, including the completion of a Pukekohe East network storage reservoir in August which will play a crucial role in  treating and delivering 175 million litres a day (MLD) from the Waikato Water Treatment Plant. Currently Watercare are treating up to 165 MLD.

Demolition is complete at the old Papakura Water Treatment Plant and construction will begin soon on its replacement. This will treat water from the Hays Creek Dam, and will provide up to 6 MLD by end of the year. Production at the plant will increase by another 12 MLD next year.

Upgrade work at our Onehunga Water Treatment Plant, which treats water from an underground aquifer, will also provide an additional 4MLD.

The Hickey Springs bore in Pukekohe is also being reinstated and will provide another 5MLD by Christmas. A modular treatment plant is being built inside a shipping container – watch this video to learn more»

Got an idea?

If you have an on what we can be doing on campus to support water savings and a more sustainable campus, share your ideas below or send a message to Communications@Unitec.ac.nz and we’ll follow this up with the relevant team, Infrastructure or Sustainability, and publish their feedback here on the Nest.