Local Water Done Well – joint water services organisation approved

Consultation has now closed

From 15 April to 15 May Thames-Coromandel District Council sought feedback from its communities over the future of how it delivers local water services and infrastructure. 

Local Water Done Well is a Government-mandated reform to the management and infrastructure of our drinking, stormwater and wastewater that all New Zealand councils must adapt to.  

What does this mean for you? Change is coming to how these water services are managed and delivered, regardless. But you have the chance to help shape what this change looks like.  

We consulted on two broad options:  

Regardless of what option is ultimately chosen, your water will still be delivered. However, the changes to how these are run will likely impact existing ratepayers and future generations.  

We’ve researched the advantages and disadvantages of all options. We asked our communities to consider which option will serve our communities best. 

We held information drop-in sessions at most main centres in the district as well as sessions online that our non-resident ratepayers can attend. This decision will affect all of us so it’s important our communities had their say. Dates for these can be viewed on this page, as can the Consultation Document. We encouraged everyone to join us at these sessions if they can or read the document, which is your ultimate guide to how Local Water Done Well could affect the Thames-Coromandel district and what you can do about it.

Thames-Coromandel District Council confirms options for future water services delivery

After a thorough and independent assessment process, our Council has narrowed down the following two options for future water services delivery for our community.  

In its meeting this week, Council also confirmed that Thames-Coromandel District Council won’t be signing the Waikato Waters Done Well (WWDW) Heads of Agreement at this time. Council also confirmed its willingness to keep our options open regarding potential partnerships with other local government entities to provide water services – as long as it’s of mutual benefit and complies with the relevant legislation. WWDW is a group of Councils in the Waikato District (except Hamilton City Council which exited recently) that have been exploring future water service delivery through an aggregated Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) service delivery model. Our Council has been participating in these discussions. 

Our Council currently provides drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services to our community through an asset base of approximately $0.55 billion dollars. 

Earlier this year the government introduced new Local Water Done Well (LWDW) legislative requirements and set higher expectations for councils to ensure their water services are financially sustainable and compliant over the long term. This new legislation replaced the previous government’s Three Waters Reform.  

The new legislation requires councils to identify at least two options (status quo and joint water services delivery) for future water services delivery to take to public consultation. Thereafter, every council across the country is to develop and submit Water Services Delivery Plans (WSDPs) by September 2025, based on their preferred option. The WSDP requires councils to design the structure, delivery method and funding and financing arrangements for their future water services delivery.  

“It’s important to note that no final decisions have been made on how we will deliver water services in the future,” says Mayor Len Salt.  

“Final decisions won’t be made until after we’ve consulted with the community, probably around April next year,” says Mayor Len. “For now, we’ve opted not to sign the Waikato Waters Done Well Heads of Agreement. Our independent review shows us we are in a relatively good position with reasonable assets and lower relative debt compared to some other councils in New Zealand. This means we are able to meet the government’s immediate new requirements in the short to medium term. So, we’ve decided to maintain a ‘keep options open’ position and not to fully commit to Waikato Waters Done Well at this stage, while keeping it a viable option for the future.” 

“In the longer term we may face affordability constraints, so we need to keep exploring regional and sub-regional partnerships to see if they are likely to deliver better overall value,” says Mayor Len. “That’s what Council’s decision this week puts us in a good position to do.” 

Staff will now explore opportunities for working arrangements, where possible, with Hauraki District Council as well as opportunities with Hamilton City Council and Tauranga City Council for a potential joint council-controlled organisation (CCO) with either in the longer term. The outcomes of these discussions will be factored into the preferred option selection process. 

Council open to all options regarding future of three waters services

Our Council has been discussing with other councils in the Waikato region on what the future of water services arrangements could look like.

At its meeting today, our Council decided that all options should continue to be investigated, ranging from banding together with other councils in a Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) to deliver water services, or going it alone. Our Council considers it too premature to make a commitment right now on the shape of future service delivery arrangements.

It is a legislative requirement that future water services delivery is separated from other council business and all councils are required to develop a Water Services Delivery Plan on how this will be done.

There is more new water legislation to be enacted, with one new piece of legislation expected by the end of the year and another early next year.

Our Council wants to fully understand the requirements of the new legislation before formulating the most suitable future water services delivery model. The Crown does allow councils to go it alone so long as they can demonstrate that water service revenues, investments and borrowings can be managed in a financially sustainable and ring-fenced manner.

Or, we could look at forming a CCO with other councils to deliver water services.

No matter what the final shape, we’ll be going to the community to find out what people think will work best for them.

For the time being, we’ll develop our Water Services Delivery Plan in accordance with the legislation and Department of Internal Affairs guidance until the options study and community consultation have been completed and then reassess the service delivery model.

Read more in the report to today’s Council meeting