Watercare chief executive Jon Lamonte said the new plant will provide a safety net for the city in case the weather is drier than forecasters predict. “At the moment, forecasters are predicting a normally-wet winter and a slightly drier-than-normal spring. Our Waikato ‘A’ plant provides a bit of extra security in the event the weather turns out to be much drier than predicted over a prolonged period,” Lamonte said. “The Waikato ‘A’ plant has been on our agenda for more than a decade – part of our plan to meet Auckland’s growing population – but we’ve brought the first stage of it forward in response to the drought.”