Waipā District Council to receive over $1 million amidst Waikato Waters transition

Thursday, 30 April 2026

Waipā District Council mayor Mike Pettit is relieved the ‘long process’ is coming towards fruition.

Waipā District Council will be cashing in a million dollar payslip yearly as part of their water connection transition with Waikato Waters.

It follows the Waipā District Council (WDC) passing a Post-Completion Service Agreement with the new water entity in a meeting on Wednesday.

The agreement states WDC will provide three ‘Service Orders’ labelled ‘Billing’, ‘Customer Service’ and ‘Development Services’. The service starts on July 1st (the transition date) and spans for a maximum of three years.

The orders outline how WDC will collect and send water and wastewater revenue to Waikato Waters (with level of service still under negotiation), be the primary contact for any customer or service enquiries and collect development contributions.

WDC will receive $562,514 for the billing order, $633,244 for customer service and $60,000 for development contributions per annum, excluding GST. Additionally, $50/$125 per household per activity for standard and non-standard residential developments respectively, will be collected .

Council passed the agreement with minimal questioning and zero debate.

Waipā Mayor Mike Pettit is one who’s glad to see the back end of what has been a long 18 month process, saying progress has ramped up over the last two and a half months leading towards “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

'It's moving a lot quicker now so really confident that we're going to get there in good shape.“

Pettit went on to reassure ratepayers the transition is the right option to keep water delivery as cheap as possible.

'It's always a little bit of anxiety when you're doing this but the more we've gone on [and] the more information we've got… the more confident we've got that this is absolutely the best decision for Waipā ratepayers.'

The agreement, presented by Waters transition programme lead Kevan Scott and acting group manager Georgina Knapp, was recieved with gracious words by council, with councillor Clare St Pierre thanking the pair personally for their efforts.

Pettit echoed the sentiment, adding everyone is feeling “far more relaxed than what we did in January.”

He added the shareholders forum made up from district mayors will be keeping Waikato Waters accountable and how council will be “interrogating” the annual reports once they arrive.

Waitomo and South Waikato District Council will join Waipā in transferring water connections on July 1.