Lone rangers: Manawatū District confirms water services plan

Thursday, 21 August 2025

Approval of the Manawatū District Council’s in-house water delivery plan on Thursday, with data and modelling aligned to the requests of the Department of Internal Affairs, is the last piece of the puzzle for Local Water Done Well, says council manager Hamish Waugh.

With pride and applause the Manawatū District has formally gone it alone, adopting an in-house water services plan instead of forming a new entity with neighbouring councils.

The historic Local Water Done Well decision was made on Thursday, approving the plan for submission to the Department of Internal Affairs.

Central government has mandated all councils to consult on the future of water services, examining environmental, water quality and economic regulations, and to investigate partnerships with nearby local authorities.

While Palmerston North, Horowhenua and Rangitīkei are teaming up, and Tararua is joining a Wairarapa collective, Manawatū joins Kāpiti as the only districts in the lower North Island to keep water services in-house.

Council staff, elected representatives and the public via submissions have been confident throughout the process that going it alone would be the best outcome for ratepayers in the district, keeping costs down and decision-making local.

Deputy mayor Michael Ford said it was a proud day for the Manawatū District. The in-house plan was financially the best option for ratepayers, and the council was best equipped to to make decisions on water.

”We will not be at the mercy of a multi-council CCO.”

Helen Worboys in December 2021, among more than a dozen mayors representing 23 councils from around New Zealand taking their concerns about the former Government’s three waters reforms to Parliament.

Ford praised the advocacy work of mayor Helen Worboys with Communities 4 Local Democracy, which rallied against the initial three waters reforms of the former Labour Government in 2021.

Worboys said they could draw pride from showing that small communities and councils could achieve sensible change “by standing up and being counted and offering alternatives”.

“The adoption of this standalone model is proof that our district is well positioned to manage our water services into the future.”

Manawatū District Council modelling suggested a four-council water entity would gift lower water bills to Palmerston North and Horowhenua ratepayers straight away, while Manawatū and Kāpiti users would be saddled with higher charges.

For Manawatū it would mean an average 14% hike for the first seven years, and it would not be until 2052 that a water bill from a shared entity provider would be comparative to charges through an in-house service.

Hamish Waugh near the Feilding wastewater treatment plant. Upgrades in 2018 allowed all effluent treated at the plant to be discharged to land and not the Ōroua River.

Councillor Andrew Quarrie expressed concern that Internal Affairs may yet force amalgamation.

Given some neighbouring districts had “not been flash” with maintaining their water infrastructure, he said there was a danger Manawatū was the “ripe fruit to pick” to assist others.

Infrastructure general manager Hamish Waugh said there was nothing in the legislation that signalled forced amalgamation.

Internal Affairs, and the Government as a whole, did favour amalgamation because of concerns that some in-house services would fail, but he said there would be a five-yearly review to ensure such models were working and to shift individual councils towards collaboration if they weren’t.

Both Waugh and Worboys said the council had been assured by the former minister for local government, Nanaia Mahuta, that in-house water services was a valid option.

The plan would now be formally submitted to Internal Affairs ahead of the deadline in September. It would provide the foundation for the way water services were managed, maintained and improved across the district for years to come.