Some households facing big increases for basic water services in Auckland's poorest communities say they will not cope.
The city's water operator, Watercare, is changing the way wastewater is charged under the new Auckland Council, with some households in the former Manukau area now facing increases of more than 40%.
Under the new charges, a family of four in Manukau, using about 20 bucket loads of water each every day, would end up paying about $712 a year for it to flow into the drains as wastewater.
That's an increase of about $270, on top of the cost of water itself.
The more people in the house, the more the bill will go up.
One resident says her household will not manage with the hike and they will have to cut down on how much water they use.
Watercare says the money from the increased charges will mostly be used for maintenance and coping with Auckland's growth.
