Affordable Water Reform
What is the Affordable Water Reform?
The Affordable Water Reform programme sets out to improve the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders. It will improve the safety, quality, and environmental performance of water, wastewater and storm water services in a way that is considerably more affordable per household than what is projected without reform.
What will the proposed reform mean?
This reform will bring together three waters services, currently delivered by 67 different councils across New Zealand, into 10 entities which will be owned by local councils on behalf of the public, and entity borders based largely on existing regional areas.
It means the Bay of Plenty will have its own entity, covering Rotorua Lakes, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty and Whakatāne. Every mayor will have a seat on their regional entity.
The reform will improve our ability to address contamination of urban streams, lakes and coastal environments through sewer overflows and other unauthorised discharges and storm water run-off.
Reform will also improve transparency about, and accountability for, the delivery and costs of these services and uphold the Crown's Treaty of Waitangi obligations to iwi/Māori.
Why is the Government proposing to move water services from councils to 10 new entities?
Because councils are facing challenges in the provision of quality water services to meet the growing demands of their communities.
In particular:
- funding the necessary infrastructure, such as water and wastewater treatment plants, pipes, etc
- complying with safety standards and environmental expectations
- building resilience to natural hazards and climate change into three waters networks
- supporting growth – more people, means more demands on infrastructure.
The effective delivery of waters services is essential for our communities and includes:
- safe drinking water, safe disposal of wastewater and effective stormwater drainage
- adequate supply of cost-effective waters services for housing, businesses and community services
- well-managed extraction of drinking water, and careful disposal of treated wastewater and stormwater so that our environment is protected.
Evidence shows that significant national investment is needed to continue to offer effective water service delivery. If the model stays as it is (council-ownership and management), service quality will be variable, and services will become unaffordable for many New Zealanders. Reform will enable communities across New Zealand to benefit from scale and operational efficiencies, making it more cost-effective in the long-run.
What does it mean for the Western Bay?
The reform would mean a significant change for council, and for the way drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services are delivered to our community in the future.
Under the Government’s proposal Western Bay of Plenty District Council will sit under a Bay of Plenty entity, covering Rotorua Lakes, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty and Whakatāne. Every mayor will have a seat on their regional entity.
Each entity would be run by a professional board, with members appointed on competency and skill.
The 50/50 split of mana whenua and council representation remains unchanged.
While the legislation will be in place before the 2023 election the new model won’t start delivering water services until 1 July 2026. The 10 new regional entities have the option to begin before the 2026 date if they are ready.
Is Western Bay doing a good job to deliver its water services?
Council has done a good job investing in water infrastructure and in turn providing a good service to our residents.
Our infrastructure is in a good state and this reflects the major investments we have made in the past. Our assets are modern and well maintained and we are committed to ensuring this continues now and into the future.
However, expert research and international experience shows a different national structure will allow us to do even better. Like most areas in New Zealand, we also need to invest a lot more, and meet new compliance and environmental levels in the future. The reform programme is designed to significantly reduce future costs to ratepayers.
Where can I get more information?
Department of Internal Affairs
- The latest Government information and releases is uploaded to the Department of Internal Affairs website here.
Mayor's media statements
Other important links
- Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ)
- Give your feedback to the Government here.