STDC votes to keep water services In-house
South Taranaki District Councillors today (Monday 21 July) rejected a proposal to join a Taranaki regional water entity and instead voted unanimously to adopt an in-house business unit as the future model for delivering water and wastewater services in the district as part of the government’s Local Water Done Well reforms.
The decision came following extensive public consultation, which saw 726 submissions made with 92% support for keeping water services in-house.
South Taranaki District Mayor Phil Nixon, whose comments echoed those of his Councillors, praised the community’s participation and said it showed that councils do listen to the feedback presented to them.
“Our initial proposal was to join a Taranaki regional water entity with New Plymouth and Stratford District Councils but based on the quality and quantity of the submissions we received it is clear that we have the backing of our community to do this ourselves.”
Councillor Andy Beccard, who seconded the motion, said that STDC had managed its water infrastructure well and was more than capable of continuing to do so. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
The main themes of the discussion included:
- The strong mandate from the community
- The Council’s capabilities to meet current and future legislative requirements
- Financial sustainability and the Council’s ability to effectively manage debt and borrow for future infrastructure
- Keeping decision making, oversight and expertise local
- Support for continuing to identify ways of working with other councils if it’s beneficial to South Taranaki ratepayers.
South Taranaki District Council (STDC) chief executive Fiona Aitken says the government’s Local Water Done Well (LWDW) reform programme replaces the previous government’s Three Waters reforms (called Affordable Waters) and aims to provide local councils with the choice of how they will provide reliable and safe water services to their communities over the next 30 plus years.
“Under LWDW councils can choose to deliver water services either by themselves or with other councils as long as they meet all relevant standards, can provide the infrastructure investment required and are financially sustainable.
“However, the process is not yet over,” says Aitken. “Council must now submit our In-house Business Unit Water Services Delivery Plan to government by September 2025, which still needs to be approved by the Department of Internal Affairs,” she says.
ENDS
Notes:
- Stratford District Council decided to move forward with an in-house business unit on 8 July 2025.
- New Plymouth District Council will make its decision on its delivery model for water services on 22 July.
- You can read the South Taranaki District Council meeting report here.
- Local Water Done Well (LWDW) is the Government’s plan to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges which include the rising costs associated with replacing ageing infrastructure, meeting new environmental and health standards and higher consumer expectations.
- Learn more about these reforms here: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Water-Services-Policy-and-Legislation
