50 Shades of Green, Equity in the Charging for a Stormwater Service

Since amalgamation, Auckland Council has been working on its hierarchy of planning, engineering and regulatory documents to form a consistent set of rules to help shape the way Auckland grows.

The Proposed Unitary Plan seeks, amongst other things, to better integrate the management of land use and development and associated adverse effects, with a greater focus on the generation and management of stormwater at or near‐source.

Auckland Council has also prepared a new Code of Practice for Land Development and Subdivision. The chapter on Stormwater sets out minimum standards for the design and construction of stormwater systems thereby allowing the public component to be vested to Auckland ratepayers for ongoing operation and maintenance, plus eventual replacement.

Auckland Council is also considering a new bylaw for stormwater management. The focus of the bylaw is the requirement of property owners to maintain stormwater devices on private land and the ability of Council to manage activities on private property that have adverse impacts on the public stormwater network.

Auckland Council is also moving to a single rating system which will mean all properties of similar value and use will be charged a similar amount of rates.

So with respect to stormwater management we are moving to a more consistent planning, engineering, regulatory and funding approach. However, no distinction has so far been made between properties of similar value and use (i.e. the same level of rates charged) and the different level of adverse effects, resulting from stormwater, that properties have on the ecosystem.

If a user pays model was adopted for the funding of stormwater infrastructure it would be weighted towards those that have the greatest demand on the public network.

This paper outlines a number of stormwater fee structures that are based on impervious area and density of development. These models are considered to be more equitable than the current method of applying a general rate that makes no distinction between properties of similar value that have different demands on the stormwater network and different effects on the environment. Changing regulation has highlighted that there is more than one shade of green when it comes to charging for stormwater services.