Kapiti Coast District Council’s proposal to change the way in which businesses pay for water as the District moves to volumetric charging for all users should not penalise businesses who use high volumes of water says Liz Koh, Chair of the Kapiti Coast Chamber of Commerce.

A recent survey shows that around one third of members are concerned about the impact of water charging on businesses. Nearly half of all members surveyed urged Council to consider a separate industrial tariff for high volume users. “While a small number of businesses are high users of water, they are extremely important to Kapiti’s business and economic development, especially the likes of food and beverage processors” says Koh. “We do not want to see existing businesses relocate or new businesses dismissing Kapiti as a potential location because of water charges. There is an opportunity here for Council to increase the attractiveness of Kapiti for such businesses by giving them special consideration”.

The majority (just under 80%) of businesses said their water costs were not significant in terms of their overall operating costs, while around 8% said they were very significant. “We are not dealing with a huge problem here in terms of numbers, said Koh, but this is a significant issue in terms of economic impact. We urge Council to take the results of this survey into consideration when establishing their charging regime”.

For further information contact:

Liz Koh
Phone: 021 313 339
[email protected]
Kapiti Coast Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 510
Paraparaumu 5254