Armidale Regional Council's introduction of its new Water Access Card for rural people not connected to the town water network has come under fire from some of the very people the card was meant to help, and it is mainly because of the card's one-off $100 issuing fee.
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In the grip of one of the worst droughts ever, with day zero less than a year away and no significant rain forecast in the interim, Arimidale's councillors are certainly on unknown ground.
This Local Government Area has not experienced such a water shortage since Malpas Dam was built and council is well aware that every drop counts.
Regardless, there are some rural ratepayers who wished to remain anonymous and those who were openly critical of being charged the fee. Some said they had to bear the cost of not only the water but also the cost of driving into town to collect it.
"... that's hitting the hip pocket more than once and the pocket is all but empty," said one.
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At council's October meeting, Cr Dorothy Robinson tried to reduce the fee to $10. Her amendment was lost, but there are those who, while they dislike the $100 cost, would accept a $20 or $30 fee without complaint.
With farmers struggling, the water access point at the arboretum was always meant to provide them with a handy pick-up point for potable water, and the importance of full water tanks to families is not lost on Mayor Simon Murray who knows the lengthy waiting periods being experienced, as water carriers battle to keep up with demand.
"Our water from Malpas Dam is for our regional council area and the arboretum outlet is for people who are outside our reticulation systems. Those people on farms or small acreages," Cr Murray said.
"The water point at the arboretum was being overused, being used by people outside our council area and basically being abused.
"We had a constant stream of people filling up those 1000 litre shuttles ... on one three-day weekend 60,000 litres went through that outlet. It became one of the highest water users that we had, so, we took steps to rein in that water usage."
Cr Murray said there was even anecdotal evidence of price gouging.
He said the $100 fee was a once-off payment to cover part of the establishment costs of supplying and managing of the card. Plastic cards needed to be purchased and council employees would be needed to assess and approve applications and then manage the new system.
"A proposal was made to make the cost of the card five dollars, and then put the difference on the cost of the water. But how do you determine what that rate should be per kilolitre?" he said.
"A person who has a big family will use a lot more than person with a small family, so they would be paying a lot more over time than with this model."
"To be honest, this the chance to get emergency water. As soon as they get their card people can go and get water. I've been told there is a six-week waiting period for carriers. Can anyone wait for six-weeks? This is immediate access to water."
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