Big decisions ahead on Hamilton city water services

Monday, 9 September 2024

Hamilton councillors are being urged to hold back on a big cross-council water services plan, and instead consider options including a standalone organisation or a smaller alliance.

The cost of providing drinking and wastewater will be “phenomenal” if changes aren’t made, mayor Paula Southgate says.

Recommendations on the next steps are in a staff report for Thursday’s council hui on the complex waters topic. It follows new requirements for councils from the Government on drinking water and wastewater management.

One recommendation is not taking part in the next stage of an inter-council Waikato Water Done Well programme to look at co-operation. A significant group of Waikato councils have already agreed to participate.

But Hamilton staff felt this stage - a sort of memorandum of understanding - wouldn’t meet the council’s needs because it won’t rapidly improve its ability to fund and deliver what’s required for growth and development.

Asked on Friday if he was disappointed, Matamata-Piako District Council chief executive Don McLeod - who’s led a Waikato Water Done Well group - said: “It would be ideal if we could have all councils participating in the next phase.

“But each council has to make its own decision.”

While he didn’t want to comment in detail, he said Hamilton was facing some “unique challenges” such as debt capacity that could influence its thinking.

A Hamilton council statement said, however, that councillors will consider the merits of creating a new standalone organisation to manage the city’s drinking and wastewater services.

The staff report raises the idea of a business unit to analyse costs and revenues.

This work would inform the design of a future Hamilton-based council controlled organisation for waters.

Whether Hamilton would eventually go it alone or join with other regional partners were amongst topics to be discussed at the meeting.

It’s suggested the council stay open to the option of partnering with neighbouring councils or delivering water services to them under contract.

And councillors are being asked to OK the idea that the council’s long-term preferred water services delivery option would still be for a regional or Future Proof sub-regional operation.

They’re also being asked to approve an offer to Waikato district to help them ensure continuity of service following Watercare’s decision to withdraw management services from 2026.

In a statement, Mayor Paula Southgate said if changes weren’t made to Hamilton drinking and wastewater services delivery costs would be “phenomenal”.

“We want to make sure we get the best long-term outcomes for all Hamiltonians, delivering high quality core services in the most cost-effective way.