KEY POINTS:
Water wholesaler Watercare Services is lobbying for a single company to manage all of Auckland's water assets.
Watercare wants to bundle up the wholesale and retail arms across Auckland into a single company with a statutory obligation to keep prices to a minimum. This would stop councils, like Auckland City, taking profits from water companies to hold down rates.
Watercare chairman Graeme Hawkins has been circulating a discussion document among shareholding councils.
He said Watercare had no intention of making a submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance, but wanted councils to know its views for them to incorporate into their submissions.
"We want shareholders to be in do doubt about what views we hold," Mr Hawkins said.
The document said the new entity should be founded on the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, quality of decision-making and service, and have a high level of public trust.
The board saw an opportunity for the creation of a consumer watchdog to investigate complaints and review its operations, including prices.
The document said 11 industry reports in 13 years identified potential cost savings of between 10 and 20 per cent from integrating the Auckland water industry.
Watercare is owned by the Auckland, Manukau, North Shore, Waitakere, Papakura and Rodney councils. It provides bulk water and wastewater services to the councils, who then sell retail services through companies such as Metrowater, or rates.
