Local Water Done Well

Waimakariri was one of the first councils in the country to gain approval to establish its future structure for water services under the government’s Local Water Done Well legislation.

Our Council strongly advocated for local ownership and say. In fact, we led the formation of Communities 4 Local Democracy (C4LD), a coalition of around 30 councils advocating against the previous reform proposal which wanted to establish four mega water entities across the country and remove ownership and say from communities.

C4LD put forward an alternative reform model that emphasised local say and ownership, while being agile enough to meet higher regulatory and financial sustainability standards. This policy formed the basis of Local Water Done Well––the reform proposal adopted by the new Government in early 2024.

Under this new legislation Council consulted on options for delivering water services as part of its Annual Plan between 14 March and 21 April and Council received 764 submissions on the topic. Over 97.2% were in support for Council’s preferred option to establish an internal business unit to manage water.

Over the last 20 years Council has invested over

$100m in water infrastructure to ensure it is of the highest quality and standard and has a 150 year infrastructure strategy to fund these assets to ensure it stays this way.

Council water-related assets together have a value of $1,103m, and a further $112.7m is already in our LTP to support drinking water safety upgrades, improve wastewater treatment infrastructure, and address flood risk.

Because of this, modelling of future costs has shown that in the first 10 years the best model for Waimakariri is an internal business unit.

This provides certainty for the community and through a business unit we retain effective control and influence, which is what is important to the community.

Cost projections show Waimakariri is in the lowest three of council’s looking at cost increases by 2034 for water provision. Our costs, including an allowance for inflation, are expected to increase by 31%. Comparatively the worst-off Council expects costs for water to increase by 252% for this same timeframe.

Our ratepayers benefit from our management and investment to date, as well as our fighting for local say and ownership.

Over the next 12 to 24 months Council will establish our internal business unit for water, ensuring our Water Services Unit is aligned with the new legislation and meets the financial requirements.

We look forward to continuing to deliver local water for Waimakariri.