Waimea dam may go with flow into new water body

Thursday, 12 August 2021

This new trunk main at Māpua, pictured as it was being laid, is one of Tasman District Council’s water assets. Those assets, valued at just under $476.5 million in June 2020, are earmarked to be transferred to a new water entity under the Government’s three waters reform programme.

Tasman District Council's interests and debt in the Waimea dam project are tipped to transfer to a proposed new water entity if the council opts into the Government's three waters reform programme.

Along with the dam, ownership of the council’s three waters assets are also expected to be transferred if the proposals come to fruition. That is all the pipes, pumps and associated infrastructure that ratepayers and users have funded over many years for the council-run water, wastewater and storm water services.

Those assets were valued at just under $476.5 million as of June 20, 2020 – representing about 29.9 per cent of the council’s total assets.

Most of the water services provided by the council are to be transferred to “entity C” under the preferred boundaries in the Government’s proposals to amalgamate the water services of 67 councils nationally into four water service entities.

Entity C also includes Nelson and most of Marlborough District along with the Wellington councils, Kāpiti Coast councils, Manawatū councils and all councils on the east coast of North Island from the Wairarapa up to and including Gisborne District Council.

The Waimea Community Dam is under construction in the Lee Valley, about 36km south-east of Nelson. It is a joint venture between Tasman District Council and Waimea Irrigators Ltd. Indications are that the council's interest in the dam, and the associated debt, will transfer to a new water entity.

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The reforms are at this stage voluntary, and several mayors and councils have voiced concern about turning over their water infrastructure to new entities.

In July, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a $2.5 billion water reform funding package at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference in Blenheim. It consists of $500m for councils to make sure they are “no worse off” through the transition process, and $2b to ensure they are “better off” afterwards through new infrastructure investment.

An indicative total of just under $22.6m has been earmarked from this “better off” funding for Tasman District Council if it continues to be involved.

In a report to a full council meeting on Thursday, community infrastructure group manager Richard Kirby said the Government signalled earlier this year that an “opt-in” or “opt-out” decision on the reforms would need to be made by councils in November-December.

“We understand this is still the intention,” Kirby said in the report. “That being the case, unless there is a change to this timeline, it is unlikely that councils will have the opportunity to consult with [their] communities. This is something that has been raised with the Government as a key issue.”

Tasman Disrict mayor Tim King says there are issues around governance, community influence and involvement and the detail of the financial information associated with the three waters reform programme.

Several elected members raised the issue of consultation as did Lisa Morley-Gray who spoke in public forum, calling for a referendum.

“There needs to be public consultation on this issue,” Morley-Gray said.

Kirby said public consultation was a process that had to be followed by the council, particularly when strategic assets were involved, such as the three waters infrastructure.

“However, this is a Government initiative,” he said. “Whether the Government decides arbitrarily to cut across what council's responsibilities are … is their call. Until the Government says otherwise … my view is that we do have to consult, and before we consult, we have to have all the information to enable our community to be fully informed.

“At the moment, we don't have all that information.”

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta provides details on the amalgamation of Aotearoa's water services. Video first published on June 30, 2021.

In response to a question about the possibility of a referendum, community development manager Susan Edwards said that while she wasn't a lawyer, her reading of the legislation was the special consultative procedure under the Local Government Act would need to be used.

“So, it would not be done via a referendum.”

Kirby said that water and wastewater assets could be transferred to a water entity relatively easily, but there were issues around storm water assets. Such assets might cross reserves, roads or floodplains, for example, creating an overlap with regional council responsibilities and those entities responsible for reserves and roads.

“It's a very complicated issue with more discussion to come,” he said.

Another point of discussion was around those preferred boundaries, which had water users within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā (area), particularly those in Murchison, in entity D and not entity C with the rest of Tasman District residents.

Originally, St Arnaud was also thought to be earmarked to be part of entity D, but Kirby told the meeting that the Ngāi Tahu boundary had been altered slightly “so St Arnaud is in entity C at this stage”.

Further clarification with Te Tau Ihu iwi regarding their views on the proposed “will be important”.

Mayor Tim King said questions that needed to be asked were “pretty apparent” with issues around governance, community influence and involvement and the detail of the financial information.

The report by Kirby is the first of two planned updates for councillors on the reforms before the council has to submit feedback by October 1.

Kirby said work was now under way on the “direct impacts on this council” and he would report back to councillors in September.

King said the council would have to consider “quite quickly the consultation options and how that's going to work”.

Few people he spoke to were in support of the reform programme, King said.

Residents from a range of sectors including business people, developers, householders and farmers were “genuinely concerned about what's being proposed”.