Government's Three Waters Reform

New Zealand’s Government recently announced a proposal to change the way three waters services (drinking water, stormwater and wastewater) are provided across the country.

Currently, each of New Zealand’s 67 councils is responsible for supplying and managing the provision of water services and infrastructure for their communities.

The Government’s Three Waters Reform proposes to remove that responsibility from councils and place the provision of three waters services under four large water entities. One of those entities would cover the Ngāi Tahu takiwā, which is most of the South Island including Waimakariri.

To date the Government has not asked councils to consult with their communities about whether they should opt-in or opt-out.

In Waimakariri, we want to carefully weigh up what’s best for our District, and hear the views of residents before providing feedback to the Government.

About the Three Waters Reform

The Three Waters Reform was originally triggered by the 2016 campylobacteriosis outbreak in Havelock North. This event led to the introduction of new legislation and a new national regulator for water services called Taumata Arowai. This organisation will have responsibility for overseeing and enforcing new drinking water regulations, and providing oversight of the environment from the impacts of wastewater and stormwater.

The objective of the reform is to provide a more efficient and consistent way of delivering three waters services across the country. It is believed that by providing these services at a larger scale, greater efficiencies and capabilities can be achieved.

There is a lot of information to consider and we have provided more detail in the "What You Need to Know" section and we would encourage you to review this information before providing us with your feedback.

We wanted to provide you with a snapshot of our District, what our three waters services look like and how the reforms could affect us.

We welcome your feedback about the Three Waters Reform - based on the information available to date. Most importantly, we want to know the reasons for your decision. If you think we should opt-out, tell us what you like, or what your concerns are about the proposal.

Alternatively, if you think we should opt-in, tell us what you don’t like, or what you think the opportunities are for the proposed reforms. Either way, we want feedback on what you think needs to be considered if the reform goes ahead.

Please let us know what you think by Sunday 5 September.