Western Bay of Plenty District Council: Investigating options for water services delivery

Councils nationwide are required to develop water services delivery plans by September 3 next year.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is exploring how its drinking water, wastewater and potentially stormwater services will be managed in the future.

At last 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 the council’s commitment to better water services.

Councils nationwide are required to develop water services delivery plans by September 3 next year. 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, stand-alone entity responsible for water, either independently or in collaboration with Tauranga City Council and potentially other councils. Such a collaboration would aim to ensure the financial and operational sustainability of water services while maintaining local control.

To guide a future decision, the Western Bay council has been looking into the state of the district’s water services and its ability to deliver into the future based on the Government’s new water standards, while 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,” says Western Bay of Plenty District 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 new stand-alone entity would need to be established either by ourselves or in partnership with other councils.”

Over the coming months, the 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.

James says any move away from the present 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.”

■ For more information on the Local Water Done Well initiative and to stay updated on where the council is at in the process, go to Local Water Done Well – Western Bay of Plenty District Council. A replay of the council meeting can be viewed on its YouTube channel starting at 1:33:00.