Armidale Regional Council's introduction of its new Water Access Card for residents not connected to the town water supply 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 on unknown ground, but should be well aware that every drop counts.
Most rural ratepayers wanted to remain anonymous, some were openly critical. Some said they had to bear the cost of not only the water, but also the cost of driving into town to collect it.
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, water access at the arboretum was meant to provide a handy pick-up point for potable water. Its importance was 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, people on farms or small acreages," he said.
"The water point at the arboretum was being overused by people outside our council area.
"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,
Cr Murray said council stepped in to rein in the massive water usage. He said the $100 fee would cover part of the establishment costs of buying and managing of the card. Council employees would be needed to process cards 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 big family will use a lot more than a person with a small family, so they would pay a lot more over time than with this model."
