2010 ANNUAL REPORT - Watercare

WATERCARE SERVICES LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2010Provision of Information ChannelsWatercare maintains a wide variety of stakeholder contact mechanisms.These include: regular project newsletters for communities affected by thecompany’s projects and operations; communications to media; the Annual WaterQuality Report to customers; the annual Asset Management Plan; the AnnualReport; and the website www.watercare.co.nz. This year the company publishedtwo, rather than four, issues of its external publication ‘Interflow’ as it focusedinternal resources on integration projects.Watercare ensured both company and LNO staff were informed of integrationplanning and progress through project newsletters and a publication called ‘YourSource’. In addition, monthly update meetings were held with Newmarket-basedstaff. These messages were communicated to all staff via the intranet basednewsletter, ‘The Font’.Staff members participate in industry forums, make presentations to industryseminars and community groups, and guest-lecture at tertiary institutions.The company runs an education programme – Adopt a Stream – that offers primaryand intermediate-school pupils lessons about water quality, the water cycle,conservation and the environment. The programme is fully resourced with waterquality testing kits, information packs and worksheets, and the coordinator,a trained teacher, educates school groups in the field and in the classroom.Watercare ran a ‘use water wisely’ campaign that involved media briefings,advertising and website updates in response to very low rainfall in the first fourmonths of 2010. Refer to the policy case study on page 40 for further details.Provision of Recreational ChannelsWatercare provides access to land adjacent to its facilities in the Waitakere andHunua ranges and on the Manukau Harbour for recreational use. Walking tracks aremaintained in both the Waitakere and Hunua ranges and fishing by boat is allowedby permit at Mangatangi and Mangatawhiri dams. The Watercare Coastal Walkway,adjacent to the Manukau Harbour, remains a popular recreational facility. This yearsaw the opening to the public of a walkway across land planted with native plantsadjacent to Greenwood Road, Mangere.The company continued to operate the Rain Forest Express, the narrow-gaugerailway built to service the Upper Nihotupu Dam in around 1912. The line, whichis still used for maintenance purposes, has carried more than 150,000 passengerssince it was opened to the public and is a popular attraction for tourists and locals.Watercare has provided ongoing support the Oxfam Water for Survival event eachyear by offering access to the Nihotupu Tramline for a charity walk.A pupil from Hunua School carries out turbidity testing on a water sample, under the supervisionof Adopt A Stream programme coordinator Sally Smith. Each year, Sally helps over 7,000 pupilscarry out hands-on field studies of their local waterways and teaches them about the water cycleand the fundamental relationship between water and all living things.WeblinksStories:TV3 takes the plungeRecord year for Adopt A StreamFigures:Rain Forest Express passengers and trips Fig. 47Communications with stakeholders Fig. 48Community impact of operations Fig. 49Objective 10 Maintain Open Communication, Educational Initiatives and Recreational OpportunitiesA. Provision of communication channels (rhughes@water.co.nz) 0.5 Public liaisonB. Provision of recreational facilities (rhughes@water.co.nz) Specific eventsponsorshipMedia liaisonRain ForestExpressInternalnewsletterBirdwatchinghidesWebsiteFishing accessBrochuresWalking tracks:Western damsProjectnewslettersWalking tracks:Southern damsEducationalprogrammesWalking tracks:Wastewater plantforeshorePublic awarenesscampaignWalking tracks:Adjacent toGreenwood Road,MangereQuarterly externalmagazineWater ForSurvivalsponsorshipDirect mailWalking tracks:Puketutu IslandTargetTargetG3S0120108.5/102006 2007 2008 20098 8 9 920109/102006 2007 2008 20098.5 8.5 8.5 7.5Impact on key areas:SocialEconomicEnvironmentalMaintain open communication, educationalinitiatives and recreational opportunitiesOverall performance scores out of 102006 2007 2008 20098.5 8.5 9 8.520108.541