At a full council meeting on 31 October, Porirua City Council considered the advantages and disadvantages of a range of options for water services delivery, and agreed that a regional approach was the best way forward. Porirua City Council agreed to work with other councils in the region to create a joint water services delivery and implementation plan. Other councils have made or are in the process of making a decision about the best way forward for them. You can read the news release here.
Nine councils in the Wellington region, along with Horowhenua District Council, have now received a report outlining a recommended regional approach to joint water services delivery.
The report outlines the scale of the challenge, implications around funding and pricing and is intended to support councils and councillors for significant decisions ahead.
It recommends a joint council owned company that would provide all services directly to water customers, and bill directly for water usage and services provided.
You can read the report here:
Find out more about the report and its recommendations here
At a full council meeting on 31 October, Porirua City Council considered the advantages and disadvantages of a range of options for water services delivery, and agreed that a regional approach was the best way forward. Porirua City Council agreed to work with other councils in the region to create a joint water services delivery and implementation plan. Other councils have made or are in the process of making a decision about the best way forward for them. You can read the news release here.
The Local Water Done Well framework and preliminary arrangements for the new water services system have been created through legislation. These changes lay the foundation for a new approach to water services management and financially sustainable delivery models that meet regulatory standards.
Local Water Done Well is being implemented in three stages, each with its own piece of legislation. The second stage was the enactment in September of the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024. You can read more about this and see our submission on the Bill in the June 2024 update below.
A further Bill, providing more detail, is expected to be introduced in December 2024.
One of the legislative requirements is for councils to develop water services delivery plans. Porirua City is working towards the development of a water service delivery plan in response to the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy. The water services delivery plan must include a description of the proposed model or arrangements to deliver water services, including whether this will be achieved alone, or by working with other councils.
Work is at underway to examine reasonably practicable options.
As part of exploring the options, Porirua City is working with the other councils in the Wellington region, and Horowhenua District Council, to develop the concept for a joint-council water services organisation that will be workable, affordable, sustainable and meet the needs of communities and the environment. A recommended regional approach was outlined in a report released early October. This will help councils make decisions on their next steps, including whether to work with other councils, or alone.
In Porirua, the Council will consider the next steps for Porirua City’s water services on 31 October.
An Advisory Oversight Group (AOG) for the regional approach is being led by Dame Kerry Prendergast and made up of elected members and iwi representatives from the nine councils in the Wellington region along with Horowhenua District Council. Our council is represented by Mayor Anita Baker.
Dame Kerry says the councils, representing more than half a million people, are committed to the process and are working at pace to ensure the right approach to water management is reached.
Consultation is likely to be undertaken in 2025 once we have further developed options for consideration.
Council will continue to update this page as its works through the water reform process.
News release: Local councils briefed on water reform
The Government has set out the key details of New Zealand’s future water services delivery system under Local Water Done Well.
Read more about the announcement here.
Find out more about the changes, including those that will be reflected in the proposed Local Government Water Services Bill here.
The submission process for the Government's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill has closed.
Collective councils of the Wellington region and Horowhenua District made a submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee regarding the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill.
You can read the submission here.
The Bill aims to establish preliminary arrangements for local government water services delivery. It is the second of three bills related to waters services that the Government intends to pass.
You can read more about the Bill here.
Porirua City is teaming up with other councils in the Wellington region on water reform, to jointly develop a water service delivery plan that is workable, affordable, sustainable and meets the needs of communities and the environment. You can read more about it here.
The Department of Internal Affairs has provided councils with information about the Local Water Done Well policy decisions. You can read about it here.
Minister of Local Government Hon Simeon Brown has also provided information on Local Water Done Well stage 2: Establishing the framework and transitional arrangement for the new water services system. You can read about it here.
The Government has repealed the Water Services legislation through the Water Services Acts Repeal Bill.
You can read the Bill here.
The Government has announced the establishment of a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to provide expert advice on the implementation of its Local Water Done Well.
At the moment 67 different councils, including Porirua, own and operate the majority of the country’s water services. However, councils face a number of challenges to deliver these in an affordable way into the future, including ageing infrastructure, growth and the impacts of climate change.
The previous Government’s plan proposed putting all water services into 10 new publicly-owned Water Services Entities (WSEs). Porirua would have been in Entity G with seven other councils from the Wellington region.
The Government was implementing reform of water services through a suite of legislation, including:
The Government made changes to the water services reform programme (Three Waters Reform) in April '23. These changes included increasing the number of new water services entities from four to 10, the establishment date of the entities (with the new entities going live sequentially from early 2025) by 1 July 2026.
Legislation to implement these changes and associated matters was intended to take place before the 2023 general election.
The Water Services Legislation Bill and The Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Bill were largely unaffected by the changes.
This is a big issue for all Councils and one we are taking very seriously to ensure a good outcome for Porirua. It is clear things cannot continue as they are, but the way forward has not been decided yet.
Until changes are completed, we will continue to deliver water services through Wellington Water, the region’s joint Council controlled organisation. Porirua, Wellington, Hutt, Upper Hutt, Greater Wellington and South Wairarapa councils are all owners in Wellington Water.
