Western Bay of Plenty District Council is exploring how its drinking water, wastewater and potentially stormwater services will be managed in the future.
At this week’s Council meeting, councillors discussed exploring new models for water services delivery in the wake of the requirements of the government's ‘Local Water Done Well’ legislation, and Council’s commitment to better water services.
Councils across the country are required to develop Water Services Delivery Plans by 3 September 2025. These plans must outline future water services delivery arrangements, and a commitment to an implementation plan.
The options being considered include continuing with the status quo or the creation of a new standalone entity responsible for water, either independently or in collaboration with Tauranga City Council and potentially other councils. Such collaboration would aim to ensure the financial and operational sustainability of water services while maintaining local control.
To guide a future decision, Council has been looking into the current state of the District’s water services, and our ability to deliver into the future based on Government’s new water standards, whilst meeting the stringent new financial sufficiency requirements. Early findings suggest it will be challenging to maintain the status quo and that changes are necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of water operations, particularly considering population growth and the increasing demands on infrastructure.
“Further analysis is required to consider all options and determine which one we think will best serve our community and meet legislative requirements into the future. Council will continue modelling different scenarios to assess financial and operational impacts,” explains Western Bay Mayor James Denyer.
“We pride ourselves on the mahi we’ve done investing in water infrastructure and in turn providing a good service to our community. But it's unlikely we will be able to retain the waters services functions within our current structure because we won’t meet the sustainable financial thresholds and debt caps as set out by the Government.
“This means that our choice of future delivery structure to achieve financial sustainability could be limited and a standalone entity would need to be established either by ourselves or in partnership with other councils.”
Over the coming months, Council will develop options for a new, council-owned water services entity, including partnership options, with a focus on maintaining local control and ensuring the future resilience of water services in the Western Bay.
Mayor James says that any move away from the current delivery model for managing waters would be subject to public consultation.
"We want our communities to be informed and engaged in these decisions to ensure that the best solution is found for everyone.”
A replay of the Council meeting can be viewed below, starting at 1:33:00
