Wayne Brown to meet Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta to 'raise issues' over Three Waters

Watercare has responded to a letter from Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown calling for the agency to stop all work on the Government's Three Waters reforms.

And he mayor-elect now plans to raise wider issues around the Three Waters proposal with Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta when he and senior council officers meet with her tomorrow.

In an edict sent to Watercare last week, Brown raised concerns that the reforms would raise water costs for cash-strapped Aucklanders.

However, in a statement today, Brown said Watercare chairwoman Margaret Devlin had assured him costs associated with the Three Waters proposal were being met by central government.

Three Waters was a big issue at the local body elections. Photo / Neil Reid

Delvin confirmed her board and management shared the mayor's concerns around cost-of-living pressures on Aucklanders and that Watercare was keeping costs at minimum levels, as required by law, Brown said.

"To deliver sustainable efficiency," Devlin wrote in a statement, "[Watercare is] reviewing what we do and how we do it, to ensure we will provide the agreed level of service to Aucklanders over the long term while reducing our controllable costs."

Last week, the mayor told Devlin and council chief executive Jim Stabback that whatever money they might have spent on the Government-imposed water reforms should be returned to Auckland households in the form of lower water charges and rates than would otherwise be charged.

Brown also sought an update on the Central Interceptor project - a super-sized tunnel to reduce water overflows into Auckland waterways.

Devlin assured the mayor that the project's financial performance remained on track despite the timeline being shifted out to June 2026 due to the impact of Covid-19.

She wrote that a further update would be provided to the council next week and that she would advise the mayor directly if there were any further changes to the delivery of the project.