Clock ticking for Wellington council to decide on water reform options
Saturday, 19 October 2024
By the end of the year Wellington City Council has to decide if it will team up with nine other councils to tackle the region’s water issues ‒ but there are already doubts about the involvement of five of the councils.
The response to the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy comes as a water pipe crisis plagues the city, with Wellington Water figures revealing 25% of pipes are in “poor” or “very poor” condition earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Wellington City Council met to discuss the recommended regional approach to a joint Water Services Delivery Plan. The nine other councils in the region have done the same.
At the meeting, councillors were told by council staff that Wellington City Council had three options: the recommended regional approach to create a new entity across all 10 councils, continue with the Wellington Water programme with added government regulations or go at it alone.
They could also go in with one or two other councils but council staff said conversations with other councils did not signal this as a feasible option.
The three Wairarapa councils, as well as Horowhenua and Kāpiti, had major doubts about joining with other councils, especially Wellington City Council, with Carterton mayor Ron Mark describing any proposal to create an entity with Wellington City as a “dog”.
He said he doubted his ratepayers would want to be exposed to the cost of fixing Wellington’s underground pipes, or be involved working with an “anti-farming” Green-leaning council.
Meanwhile, Kāpiti mayor Janet Holborow said while she was “fully engaged” with the advisory group, any decision would have to be made on the basis of what was in the best interest of ratepayers.
Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter predicted the four metropolitan councils ‒ Upper and Lower Hutt, Porirua and Wellington City ‒ plus Greater Wellington, would create a new entity
Dame Kerry Prendergast, who chaired the advisory group which led the report, said in a statement it was vital to address the backlog of investment needed in three waters infrastructure.
'There are no quick fixes. This is why it’s imperative that councils work together, despite each facing different issues. Some councils have challenges now, some have challenges to come in the future. This is a long game, and working together, at scale, gives us the best chance to turn the tide,“ she said.
“The overall state of our water services network is simply not good enough. Water supply services are often unreliable, with old pipes resulting in about half of the water supply for the metropolitan area being lost through leaks.”
Local Water Done Well regional response programme director Dougal List and financial lead Helen Rogers told councillors there were a number of issues still to work through in the regional approach.
This included the complexity of co-ordinating multiple councils and the cost of establishing a new entity, Wellington City Councillors were told.
Importantly, councils had to confirm financing arrangements through the Local Government Funding Agency to deliver the levels of service needed, but details were yet to be confirmed.
The third bill, which would bring in the final details like price, would land in December and be enacted by April to May next year. Councils must deliver a water delivery service programme by September 2025, and decide on which options to consult on by the end of 2024.
An estimated $15 billion to $17b would need to be invested across Wellington over the next 20 to 25 years, or $700 million to $740m per year including replacing the backlog of worn out infrastructure.
Greater Wellington might step back from the entity after a period of time, with its role in the regulation and supply of bulk water proving to be a conflict.
Council staff compared their proposal to some models in Australia, where end-to-end water services who owned their own assets, billed their customers for their services and worked closely with councils.
But councillor Tony Randle voiced concerns about the governance model, which he said was “very similar” to Wellington Water in that it operated the same way of an organisation sitting between councils.
“That has not delivered the transparency we sought.”
Correction: 25% of pipes, not 45%, are in poor or very poor condition. The investment across Wellington would include infrastructure replacement, not exclude it as previously reported. Story amended October 19, 2024.