Hamilton takes key step over waters hook-up with Waikato district

Thursday, 12 December 2024

The delivery of water services by a joint Hamilton-Waikato district council controlled organisation has moved a step closer after a Hamilton vote on Thursday. Next Waikato district councillors will vote on Friday.

Hamilton councillors have taken the highly significant step of agreeing to a joint water services set up with neighbouring Waikato district, subject to a vote by their likely prospective partner and public feedback.

Waikato district’s councillors will decide on Friday whether they agree after Hamilton’s unanimous vote at a meeting on Thursday to support a joint council controlled organisation (CCO) for waters.

A potentially positive omen was the presence of Waikato’s mayor Jacqui Church and chief executive Gavin Ion at the Hamilton hui, with Church saying they were there to observe “and to reinforce the strong partnerships we have with Hamilton city”.

She was hopeful of positive progress at her council’s meeting on Friday. Waikato staff have recommended the joint CCO option.

A recently installed big wastewater tank at Peacocke in Hamilton is an example of the ongoing waters infrastructure challenges faced by local councils.

The votes follow government pressure for councils nationally to sort out their future water services arrangements by next year. They were told to consider joining with neighbours to improve efficiencies and deliver a better deal for ratepayers.

If both councils agree to the joint CCO delivering water services from mid-2026 there’ll be a chance for community feedback early next year before final decisions are made.

The CCO would jointly deliver drinking water and wastewater services, while stormwater would continue to be managed by each council, under contract to the CCO.

Hamilton is keen on the idea of joining up with other councils for a regional or sub-regional CCO as well but city mayor Paula Southgate said on Thursday that as a growth council working alongside Waikato “we need some things resolved faster”.

“Working towards a long-term regional solution, however, is still part of the plan.

Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate says partnering with Waikato district for now will help it make quicker progress on changing the way it delivers water services.

“We cannot deliver the infrastructure that we need, and the growing sub-regional needs, on our own.

“Only by working together can we build the pipes we need to enable more housing and more business.”

CCOs would have higher debt capacity and “this is fairer on today’s ratepayers because it means future ratepayers will bear some of the burden [for water services] not just today,” Southgate said.

Chief executive Lance Vervoort told Waikato Times during a break that the council would have to revisit alternatives next year if Waikato district didn’t agree to a joint CCO.

Economic development committee chairperson Ewan Wilson is keen to see Waipā district join the CCO as well at some stage.

Southgate indicated such a re-evaluation would include investigating where other councils had got to with their CCO plans.

Various councillors were strongly hopeful that Waipā might join the CCO at some point.

Under a Waikato Water Done Well CCO initiative - which Hamilton opted out of - Waipā, Waitomo and Matamata-Piako districts have indicated support for jointing a regional CCO, while Taupō, Ōtorohanga and South Waikato are still considering their preferred option. Hauraki district is due to make decisions next week.

Economic development committee chairperson Ewan Wilson was one of those keen to see Waipā come aboard in future.

“I encourage their ratepayers to advocate for this forward-thinking approach, which will future-proof our region and support significant growth in a financially prudent, sustainable manner.”

However, he had a warning about how the new Hamilton-Waikato CCO could take on debt from the council, creating “newfound capacity for non-essential or ‘nice-to-have’ projects”.

“It is our duty to ensure that this change does not lead to uncontrolled spending on non-core assets” by the city council.

Strategic growth and district plan committee deputy chairperson Geoff Taylor - another supporter of Waipā joining - believed a CCO would better help Hamilton provide growth-related infrastructure.

Strategic growth and district plan deputy chairperson Geoff Taylor says a cross-boundary approach to infrastructure investment has clear advantages.

“We have got a number of greenfield, fast-track developments outside our boundary ringing the city.

“The Government’s deliberately making the local body boundaries irrelevant when it comes to how we grow.

“So what is the point in clinging to paying for water and wastewater within these boundaries. It just doesn’t work anymore.”

But he said that with huge costs coming down the line for water services generally “let’s not pretend [joining with Waikato district] is a panacea for ratepayers”.