Topic 1: What's our plan for water?

Let's talk more about our options for delivering water services in Waitaki

The Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation requires Council to create a Water Services Delivery Plan by September 2025 for the Department of Internal Affairs to review. This plan will outline how Waitaki District Council intends to provide drinking, waste and stormwater infrastructure for the district, both now and in the future.

Some of the Local Water Done Well legislation is still going through Parliament, but we have been provided by some models of how things could be run by the Government. Having reviewed five of them, we believe a new Water Services Company (WSC) will be the best choice for Waitaki.

A WSC would place Council’s water assets, and responsibility for delivering them, into a separate organisation. This new organisation will be able to focus on service delivery, and potentially collaborate with other councils; sharing resources, knowledge and combining to improve purchasing power.

How this is funded may depend on the second consultation topic, regarding water metering. Should a WSC be set up next year, and take over the water services delivery in 2027, your rates would no longer include water charges. Instead you’d pay a water bill, similar to how you pay a power bill. This would cover your drinking water, waste water and may include storm water as well if those services are part of the WSC.

The water infrastructure we’ve delivered in the last five-years makes up a large amount of Council’s debt. Funding big-ticket long term assets this way means that the cost isn’t front-loaded onto todays ratepayer. Instead the cost of the asset is paid off by all users, across its lifespan.

However, it does mean that increasing amounts of Council’s revenue goes towards funding water services, which reduces our headroom to take on other projects the District might need.

Last year we estimated we’d need to invest $426 million dollars in our water services over the next decade, just in capital expenditure. That is paying for pipes, treatment plants, reservoirs and getting the consents needed to continue to deliver safe drinking water, take away and treat wastewater and ensure that our stormwater network can cope with significant rain events when they occur.

There’s still some way to go with the Local Waters Done Well reforms, but we decided now is the time to talk to the community about the future of water services in the Waitaki District, and let you know where we are in the process. Your feedback will help Council make a decision on the Water Services Delivery Plan.

You can find more information in these supporting documents:

Read the topic pages in our Consultation Document

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