Watersmart

Rib-raft foundations are the standard in New Zealand construction. So why should your stormwater system ask for anything different?

Redesigns cost time. They delay consents, add engineering fees, and create conversations nobody wants to have mid-project. For developers and project managers, a stormwater system that requires changes to the structural package is a problem that shows up at the worst possible moment.

Aquacomb is the only in-slab stormwater detention system that works seamlessly with standard rib-raft foundation designs. No additional engineering considerations. No structural changes. No added cost to the package. It fits into what your team is already building.

The system does the work without changing yours.
Talk to the Watersmart team before your next slab goes down.

📞 0800 110 808
🔗 watersmart.co.nz

What would it look like if our cities absorbed rain instead of shedding it?

That is the idea behind sponge city design, and it is one of the most practical responses to the flooding and stormwater challenges Aotearoa is grappling with right now.

We are hosting a free evening session at the Watersmart Innovation Hub in Avondale on 17 June, in partnership with Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau. Drinks, nibbles, and a genuinely useful 90 minutes for anyone working in civil engineering, urban design, or local government.

Our speaker is Umar Farooq, PhD candidate at Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa and Doctoral Scholarship recipient, whose research focuses specifically on advancing sponge city approaches for New Zealand cities. He will be covering:
✅ Why conventional pipe and convey stormwater systems are under increasing strain
✅ How catchment-based design can reduce flooding, runoff, and water quality issues
✅ The role permeable surfacing plays in restoring natural water cycles
✅ Practical ways to integrate water-sensitive design into real projects and policy

There will be a Q&A at the end, so come with questions.
Free to attend. Spaces are limited.

🔗 Register via the link: https://lnkd.in/ejuBMnj3

Auckland water bills are going up 7.2% on 1 July. For developers, the Infrastructure Growth Charge is rising 20%. And this is not a one-off, further increases are signalled for 2026 and 2027.

Watercare is investing $13.8 billion over the next decade to improve and expand Auckland's water and wastewater infrastructure. That investment is necessary. But the cost is being passed directly to households and developers, and it is only going one direction.

For developers specifically, the IGC is a one-off fee paid when a new development connects to the network. In metropolitan Auckland that sits at $3,913.33 per development unit equivalent, and that is before any bespoke upgrade costs when existing pipes or treatment plants cannot handle the additional load.

There is a smarter way to think about this. Every litre of water harvested on-site from rainfall is a litre that does not need to come from the Watercare network. Every litre recycled within a building through a system, like , is a litre that does not go back to the wastewater network for treatment. And every development that manages stormwater on-site through or is reducing the peak demand on infrastructure that developers are now paying more than ever to connect to.

On-site water management is not just an environmental decision anymore. With connection costs and usage charges rising year on year, it is increasingly a financial one.

Talk to the Watersmart team about what that looks like on your next project. 💧

🔗 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/watercare-bills-to-jump-next-month-as-aucklanders-face-another-cost-hike/XSKPG5VR3RAKTFASKOYIP45O2Y/

Something is changing in the New Zealand insurance market that every property owner needs to understand.

Major insurers are moving away from suburb-wide flood risk averages. They are now using high-resolution geospatial data to assign risk ratings to individual street addresses. That means your next renewal could look very different to your last one.
Higher premiums. Reduced cover. Or flood protection excluded from your policy altogether. The financial exposure that creates is significant, and it is happening now, not at some point in the future.

Engineered flood protection is no longer just about stopping water. Insurers are increasingly looking for documented, engineered mitigation when assessing a property's risk profile. The right flood barrier, properly specified, gives you exactly that. We can help with that.

Watersmart supplies permanent and demountable flood barriers designed for exactly this situation. If your property is in a flood-prone area, talk to our team before your next renewal.

📞 0800 110 808
🔗 www.watersmart.co.nz

Most stormwater systems need space to work. This one had almost none.

A recent Lower Hutt residential build presented one of the most constrained stormwater installations we have taken on. The architectural design by Parsonson Architects Ltd left limited space beneath the home and deck structure, with structural piles, tight invert levels, and existing pipework all competing for the same space.

The solution was a customised 5,250L Aquacomb detention system, made up of 15 x 300mm pods configured specifically around the site constraints. The modular nature of Aquacomb is exactly what made it possible. No two pods need to sit in a perfect grid, which means the system can work around what is already there.

Watersmart's design and commercial teams worked closely with Jason Brown Plumbing throughout, including multiple design revisions and site visits during construction. The result was a compliant, discreet stormwater detention system built to Wellington Water requirements, tucked completely out of sight beneath the home.

🔗Read the full case study on our website

What would it look like if our cities absorbed rain instead of shedding it?

That is the idea behind sponge city design, and it is one of the most practical responses to the flooding and stormwater challenges Aotearoa is grappling with right now.

We are hosting a free evening session at the Watersmart Innovation Hub in Avondale on 17 June, in partnership with Engineering New Zealand. Drinks, nibbles, and a genuinely useful 90 minutes for anyone working in civil engineering, urban design, or local government.

Our speaker is Umar Farooq, PhD candidate at Massey University and Doctoral Scholarship recipient, whose research focuses specifically on advancing sponge city approaches for New Zealand cities. He will be covering:
✅ Why conventional pipe and convey stormwater systems are under increasing strain
✅ How catchment-based design can reduce flooding, runoff, and water quality issues
✅ The role permeable surfacing plays in restoring natural water cycles
✅ Practical ways to integrate water-sensitive design into real projects and policy

There will be a Q&A at the end, so come with questions!
Free to attend but spaces are limit so make sure you register via the Engineering NZ website.

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The concrete has been poured. Now is not the time to find out the stormwater system was not installed correctly.

With new self-certification requirements coming in across the building sector, who installs your stormwater system matters more than ever. A problem under a slab is not something you can inspect, access, or fix without significant cost and disruption once the build is complete.

Aquacomb is only installed by trained, approved installers. Watersmart is deliberate about who makes that list. The programme is selective, the training is thorough, and the number of approved installers is intentionally kept small. Not as a limitation, but as a quality standard.

Specifying Aquacomb means the system goes in right, first time, every time. That is a risk taken completely off the table before the build even begins.

Talk to the Watersmart team about certified installation on your next project.
📞 0800 110 808
🔗 watersmart.co.nz

The best product demonstrations happen in real life, not on a spec sheet. Last week, 28 members of Auckland Council's central Code Compliance team visited the Watersmart Innovation Hub to see for themselves.

A big thank you to everyone who made the trip out. It was a genuinely productive afternoon and exactly the kind of conversation we love having at the Hub.

Here is what we covered:
✅ Factory and onsite testing processes for Aquacomb and above-ground tanks
✅ How we manage approved installers and our documentation process
✅ The PS3 process and how to streamline it
✅ Annual pump servicing and the importance of staying on top of it
✅ The ease of maintenance and use of leaf diverters
✅ A live Porous Lane demonstration at our main entrance
✅ Porous Lane compliance credentials and University of Melbourne testing
✅ Longevity, ease of maintenance, and applications across New Zealand

If your team would like to visit the Innovation Hub and see these systems working in real time, we would love to have you.

📞 0800 110 808
🔗 www.watersmart.co.nz

Our Freshwater 2026 paints a clear picture of a resource under pressure. Hydraloop exists for exactly this moment, recovering water from showers and baths and putting it straight back to work.

Released by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ, the report confirms that in 2023 and 2024, residential and rural users consumed an estimated 685 million cubic metres of water for household use alone. That demand is only growing, on a resource the report confirms is under increasing pressure from abstraction, climate change, and contamination.

Hydraloop, available exclusively through Watersmart in New Zealand, treats water from showers and baths for reuse in toilet flushing and laundry, using six innovative technologies with no chemicals and minimal maintenance. That is up to 45% savings on water consumption and wastewater, from within the building itself.

When paired with a rainwater harvesting system, the savings compound further. Less demand on the mains supply. Less pressure on the municipal system. A more resilient home or building when restrictions arise.

Freshwater is a taonga. We now have the technology to use it twice.

Explore Hydraloop at www.watersmart.co.nz/hydraloop or call us on 0800 110 808. 💧

Your fence is doing one job. FenceTank does two.

At just 410mm deep, FenceTank is one of the narrowest above-ground rainwater tanks available in New Zealand. It sits flush against the fence line, stores 1,000 litres per unit, and as you can see here, five tanks joined together deliver 5,000 litres of on-site water storage without sacrificing a single square metre of usable space.

For those working with high-density or tight urban sites, that is the difference between a stormwater solution that works with your design and one that fights it.

✅ 410mm depth fits flush to any fence line
✅ 1,000L per unit, fully modular and scalable
✅ No concrete base required on good ground
✅ Food-grade, UV-resistant Rotathene tank grade plastic
✅ 10 year warranty
✅ Colours matched to the COLOURSTEEL range

🔗Find out more at watersmart.co.nz/fencetank or get in touch with the team. 💧