Councils sign joint water services plan

The plan sets out how drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services will be delivered in the future, and outlines the pathway to establishing a jointly owned Water Services Council Controlled Organisation (WS-CCO). It is part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy.

The partnership will mean water assets remain locally owned, enable councils to meet tougher government regulations, keep costs more affordable for communities, and deliver safe, resilient and sustainable water services.

Before adopting the plan, our three councils sought initial feedback from the Department of Internal Affairs, which is overseeing water reforms, to give us the highest chance possible that the Government will sign off on our plan.

Mayor Bernie Wanden of Horowhenua District Council says adopting this plan is an important step towards delivering safer, better, more affordable water services. “There is no doubt that the three councils can do this better together. But it’s important to note that we will retain a strong local voice and decision-making power in the new water services organisation.”

Mayor Grant Smith of Palmerston North City Council says partnering with Horowhenua and Rangitīkei District Councils to create a joint water services organisation will see significant cost savings for our community both in the short and long term. “This decision is about being smart with resources, meeting tougher regulations, retaining an important skilled workforce and planning long term. Working with our neighbouring councils means we can deliver better services and better value with more scale, while keeping local control.”

Mayor Andy Watson of Rangitīkei District Council says adopting this plan is an important milestone. “This is one of the biggest decisions councils will make for their communities in decades. Rangitīkei residents can rest assured this partnership with Horowhenua and Palmerston North is a good one. It will be able to deliver the critical balance of affordability and local influence.”

Next steps

Now the plan has been signed, it will be submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs this week. We expect to hear back from Government by mid-December.

The three Chief Executives have also appointed Chris Dyhrberg to be the Executive Director working with all three councils on the next steps, until a transition board is established. Mr Dyhrberg is Palmerston North’s City Council’s Deputy Chief Executive.

Today, the Mayors and CE’s acknowledged the work of staff who have been working on water reforms for the past few years. They also acknowledged all of our communities who gave feedback during consultation. They committed to continuing to ensure communities stay informed throughout the process of setting up the organisation. Until we hear back from Government, there may be limited updates. However, if there are any significant matters in the interim, we will update our communities.