Council to consult on a Taranaki regional water entity
South Taranaki District councillors voted 7-4 today (Wednesday 26 Feb) to consult with the community on a proposal to join a Taranaki regional water entity with New Plymouth and Stratford District Councils for delivering future water and wastewater services as part of the Local Water Done Well reforms.
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.
The Local Water Done Well 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.
South Taranaki District Mayor, Phil Nixon says the Council has been looking at several different delivery options for water services since March last year (2024), including delivering water independently, as well as working with Stratford and New Plymouth district councils to investigate what a joint water services model could look like in Taranaki.
“In September we decided to undertake more in-depth investigations into three models of water services delivery. A South Taranaki District Council (STDC) in-house water services business unit, an STDC council-controlled organisation and a regional (Taranaki) water services council-controlled organisation (WSCCO),” he says.
“Further investigation showed that a South Taranaki council-controlled organisation on its own was not financially sustainable, which left two remaining options, the STDC in-house business unit and a regional (Taranaki) water services council-controlled organisation.”
“After really good and robust debate, we agreed to consult with our community on both options, with our proposed model being a joint Taranaki regional water entity with New Plymouth and Stratford District Councils.”
Mayor Nixon said the discussion reflected how complex and important the decision in front of them was and continues to be, noting that both options have their advantages and disadvantages.
This is just for consultation, there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge before we make a decision, no pun intended, which is why it will be important to hear from our community on what they believe is the best long-term option for South Taranaki.
Consultation on the proposal will be available from 30 April on www.southtaranaki.com and will run throughout May.
New Plymouth and Stratford District Councils have also both chosen a joint Taranaki model for delivering water services as their preferred option when consulting with their communities.
ENDS
You can read the South Taranaki District Council meeting report here.
Learn more about these reforms here: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Water-Services-Policy-and-Legislation
