11 Feb 2009

Charges for excess water use not favoured

2:45 pm on 11 February 2009

Some Christchurch residents say they will not support a council suggestion that charges could be introduced for excess water use.

City Council staff met with members of the public on Tuesday to discuss the Draft Water Supply Strategy, which outlines several options for reducing water use.

One option put forward by the council would mean consumers having to pay more for using water above a set amount.

That proposal has been met with concern that the system could be expensive to manage and unfair for the owners of large properties.

Council programme manager Jenny Ridgen said the 'user pays' option is not on the immediate agenda and would not go ahead if the public was opposed to it.