Water Done Well talks progress

Hauraki District Council has become the last territorial authority to agree to sign the Waikato Water Done Well agreement.

The decision, made unanimously by councillors, means seven out of 10 of the Waikato’s territorial authorities have responded to the government’s Local Water Done Well legislation by agreeing to sign the non-binding agreement. Hauraki has joined Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, Waipā, Matamata-Piako, South Waikato and Taupō.

Waitomo and Ōtorohanga voted to enter into a Heads of Agreement as part of the project early last month.

The agreement will see them progress a detailed business case for a collective approach to forming a regional multi-council-controlled water organisation to manage drinking water, wastewater, and, where requested, stormwater services.

A seven-council controlled organisation is not a certainty.

Hauraki District Council is also exploring forming a duopoly with Thames-Coromandel District Council or adding Matamata-Piako District Council to the mix.

Each council will make the Waikato Water Done Well model available to the public early this year as part of community consultation.

“We have the option of going it alone and continuing as we are, with an enhanced business unit to comply with expected regulations, or work in collaboration with our Waikato and neighbouring councils to get the benefits of scale; quality standards and resilience,” said Hauraki district mayor Toby Adams in a statement.

“Based on the latest legislation all councils must explore a status quo option and at least two other options including collaboration, so we have big decisions to make and as importantly, our communities need ample opportunity to have their say on the options we present.

“Key to the success of any option will be the clear understanding of who will do what and when, who will own it and who will pay for it – once we’ve nailed that down, we’ll head out to our communities around March 2025 for a public consultation.”

The investment could cost $100 million over 10 years and save a conservative $338 million in that time. Multiple independent reports over more than a decade found managing water services regionally could save money and improve infrastructure by leveraging scale.

Vaughan Payne, who has been leading Water Done Well on behalf of the Waikato Mayoral Forum and local iwi chairs for 18 months and holding meetings council chief executives, said Hauraki’s decision was good news.

“Of the 10 territorial authorities, seventy per cent have signed up to the agreement for Waikato Water Done Well,” he said.

“It’s still subject to public consultation, so we will see what the community feel.

“We saw, in the last Government, that a top-down approach to water reform does not work.”

“We need strong community ownership of the problem and the solution. We have worked hard for the last 18 months to get a cohesive understanding of the problem, not just today but for the future.”

If given the go ahead by communities, the council-controlled organisation would be established in mid-2025 and become fully operational by mid-2026. A key requirement is that this is seamless from a customer experience perspective.

Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council are exploring establishing their own organisation but have been clear that they see a regional model being of benefit at some point in the future. Thames-Coromandel District Council has opted not to sign any agreements.