After a decade of fighting, Upper Selwyn Huts residents celebrate end to water dispute

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

After a decade-long fight against skyrocketing water charges and to be treated like everyone else, residents of Upper Selwyn Huts are finally celebrating a victory they feared may never come.

The hut settlement is a small riverside community of about 95 houses on the north side of Lake Ellesmere. Homes are owned by residents, while the land is owned by the Crown and administered by Selwyn District Council.

Unlike other communities with shared sewer and water systems, theirs was the only one in the region not included in district-wide rates for the services.

Residents were told last year that they would have to pay for running costs and recent upgrades – and that the bills would be nearly $4000 a year per household, for 15 years.

But now the community have been told they will finally be placed on district-wide water rates, Selwyn Huts Owners’ Association spokesperson Kirrily Fea said, ending years of uncertainty and concerns over potentially crippling costs.

Selwyn Water said the decision still need to be formally approved.

The dispute followed a separate win for residents in 2025, when they secured 30-year licence-to-occupy agreements.

“It was just really disbelief,” Fea said. “We just never really understood why we couldn’t have been on it previously. It just didn’t make sense.

“So it was a huge relief for us, and just confirmation that we should have been on it previously as well.”

Residents had been pushing for the change since a policy shift in 2015, making the decision the culmination of more than a decade of advocacy.

Fea said Selwyn Water had consistently questioned why the settlement had been treated differently from other communities.

“They couldn’t understand why we weren’t on district-wide rates previously. So they made that decision and they came and talked to us at the meeting and confirmed that.

“There was just a huge relief in the whole room, all the community. We’re just so relieved, and validated as well.”

Selwyn Water said it had been working with the Upper Selwyn Huts community as part of the development of its water services strategy.

The company said its proposed approach was to treat Upper Selwyn Huts residents “in the same way as other customers across the district”, meaning property owners would pay the same standard charges as other connected properties and infrastructure costs would be recovered through Selwyn Water's normal charging framework.

“We recognise the community has strongly advocated to be treated the same as the rest of the district, and we are pleased that the proposed water services strategy provides a pathway to achieve that outcome,” a spokesperson said.

Fea said the strategy also meant residents would not have to fund future infrastructure upgrades themselves. Under a previous council decision, Upper Selwyn Huts residents would have to pay for 30% of a $4 million upgrade to the local sewer system.

“Those upgrades also happened at the same time in Leeston and other townships near us and they didn’t have to pay for it either,” Fea said. “They’re treating us like everyone else, and that is the only thing we have been asking for.”

The financial impact could be significant, Fea saying costs would fall from the near $4000 to estimated costs of about $1800 a year under the new arrangement.

“It’s a huge saving for us. I think people will end up staying here, whereas if we were going to be paying $4000, I think a lot of people would have considered selling and moving.”

Residents are now looking forward to being able to shift their focus from fighting to be able to stay to making improvements at the settlement.

They are planning a barn dance and barbecue to celebrate, and will invite everyone who has supported them.

For Fea, the outcome represents not just a win on water charges, but proof that a small community can make its voice heard.

“There’s not many great positive stories, like success stories, David versus Goliath. We are a success story.”