Greater Wellington

Water supply

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Water quality

Water use

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How much do we use?

Each year we supply 55-56,000 million litres of water, an average of just over 1,000 milllion litres every week. If Wellington's Westpac Stadium were a reservoir, this weekly volume would fill it completely.

Our supply serves a population of around 365,000 people, so on average we provide just over 400 litres per resident each day, or four bathtubs each. Not all of this water is used by individuals at home. Businesses, industry, schools, hospitals, councils etc all use water too.

The following graph shows the changing levels of water use at different times of the year.

Peak and average daily water use by month


Daily water use by month

The variability in how much water is used each year depends largely on the weather conditions we have during summer and how much water is used on gardens. Over the course of a year, the average amount of water we supply each day is about 150 million litres. During periods of dry weather in summer, demand for water can reach as much as 220 million litres per day, almost 50% more than the annual average. Because our water supply comes mainly from rivers, which rely on rainfall, it can prove challenging to meet all demand for water during very dry summers.

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Greater Wellington
142 Wakefield Street
Wellington 6011
PO Box 11646
Wellington 6142
T 04 384 5708
F 04 385 6960

34 Chapel Street
Masterton 5810
PO Box 41
Masterton 5840
T 06 378 2484
F 06 378 2146

Freephone 0800 496 734