Council agreed today to sign a Heads of Agreement as part of 'Waikato Waters Done Well'.

The decision commits us to working with other councils in the Waikato to investigate the establishment of a council controlled organisation (CCO) to deliver water and wastewater services in the future. What was referred to as a ‘stage 2’ approach, which is an asset-owning, fully enabled water services entity, has been endorsed. Waipā, South Waikato and Waitomo District Councils have also agreed to sign the agreement this week, with other councils across the Waikato set to consider it before Christmas.

Alongside the regional model, we are continuing to assess the viability of delivering water services in-house. Both options will be presented to the community for feedback in early 2025 before making any decisions on the future of our water services.

Under the Government’s Local Waters Done Well legislation, all councils across New Zealand are required to produce a water services delivery plan by September next year, with a focus on ensuring future delivery is financially sustainable and meets quality standards. The plans are a way for councils to reflect on their current approach to the delivery of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services.

The options provided by the Government under the new legislation include:

• forming an internal business unit to deliver water services. This option includes significant changes to how council's manage and report on water services - so while it would still be delivered by us, it is not the 'status quo'
• joining with others to form a multi-council controlled organisation (CCO). This option is what Waikato Waters Done Well explores
• forming a single council water organisation to deliver those services.

The Government has made it clear to all councils that the status quo is not an acceptable way to manage water services in the future. "We're being told to do this by the government. If we don't do it ourselves, it will be done to us," says Mayor Adrienne Wilcock. "Regardless of this, water is a critical service for our community, and we're committed to finding the most sustainable and efficient way to deliver it."

The potential regional approach could address several key challenges, including:

• a strategic regional approach to the estimated $7.5 billion needed for water services across the Waikato over the next decade
• addressing current workforce shortages in water service delivery
• potentially reducing costs through shared expertise and resources
• ensuring compliance with new government water management regulations.

Mayor Adrienne emphasised that signing the Heads of Agreement doesn't mean we are committing to the regional CCO.  “This isn’t a final decision—it’s about understanding the full picture. This is a key, strategic decision that will impact generations to come - so we want to ensure we understand all the options."

We will continue to model both a regional council-controlled organisation and an in-house water services approach. Detailed options will be presented to the community for feedback in early 2025, before a final decision is made on how to proceed.