Watercare apologises and deletes controversial social media post

Part of the Watercare post on X which also stated: "Ladies, we're all for showering in a firey [sic] inferno, but 27% of your power bill is used to heat water". Photo: Screenshot / X

Auckland's water provider has apologised and deleted a social media post which users said perpetuated sexist stereotypes about women.

Watercare made the post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, asking women to limit their hot water usage.

"Ladies, we're all for showering in a firey [sic] inferno, but 27% of your power bill is used to heat water. So, let's keep it snappy to keep your wallet happy! 1 shower, 4 minutes - it's all you need," the post read.

Users called the post sexist, questioning the agency's reasons for singling out women.

Watercare initially defended the post, but reversed its position on Wednesday morning.

"Yesterday's post drew inspiration from a social media trend suggesting that women prefer hotter showers than men," head of communications Rachel Hughes said.

"To leverage off this trend, we reshared a meme, highlighting the potential cost savings by keeping showers short. While we aim to make our social media content fun and engaging, we recognise that, on this occasion, we missed the mark."

Hughes said the post was part of an ongoing campaign to promote water conservation.

"We acknowledge that our posts have caused offense and have taken them down this morning," she said.

"We regret any hurt and offense caused and offer our sincere apologies."

We often get things right, but sometimes we get it wrong. Yesterday's post encouraging women to keep their showers short hit the wrong note and caused offence. We didn't just miss the mark with that post, we were miles off. We're sorry and we'll aim to do better than yesterday. pic.twitter.com/V4EXimirOW

— Watercare (@watercare_nz) January 16, 2024