Community to have say on future of water services

The community will be asked for feedback on the waters options from late-March. File Photo.

Tauranga City Council will soon be asking residents how they want water services delivered for the next 30 years as part of aligning with the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy direction.

Engagement on water proposals, allowing the community to give feedback, will happen alongside the draft Annual Plan consultation from late March 2025.

In line with the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy direction, local councils are required to decide and consult on a proposed future model for delivering water services.

The model is required to be included in a Water Services Delivery Plan, to set out how the council plans to deliver services in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible, while allocating enough money for future upgrades to keep pace with the city’s growing needs.

At a December 9 meeting, a business case was presented to Tauranga’s mayor and councillors outlining the options for consideration.

Three options

At the meeting the council confirmed it will seek community feedback on three options: The council’s current delivery model (the status quo), and its preferred options of establishing a jointly-owned, two-water or three-water council-controlled organisation involving another council or councils that would achieve mutual benefits; or a standalone Tauranga City Council CCO, which would also cover stormwater.

The community will be asked for feedback on the waters options from late-March. File Photo.
The community will be asked for feedback on the waters options from late-March. File Photo.

A CCO is an entity controlled by a local authority, or multiple local authorities. CCOs are governed by their own boards but are still accountable to the council or councils that control them.

A CCO was identified as the preferred option, based on several criteria including financial sustainability and the opportunity to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

In addition to looking at potential partners in the wider Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions, Tauranga City Council will continue working with Western Bay of Plenty District Council to progress the option of establishing a jointly-owned CCO.

Big decision

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said this is a big decision for the community. “Council has heard loud and clear from the community in the past that water assets must stay in council ownership and under local government control. We want to assure people that this won’t change,” he said.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / Alisha Evans.
Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / Alisha Evans.

“Like other councils, our challenge is that an up-to-date waters network is going to be expensive.”

Drysdale said over time the cost of delivering water services across New Zealand will increase, regardless of any changes to service delivery models – and the ongoing challenge for Tauranga will be to meet the requirements for water regulation while providing financially sustainable future water services in a growth city.

“Whatever we do, we want to manage those costs for our community as best we can.

“I understand there will be concern about the loss of control in creating a CCO and working with partners, which we will be looking to provide greater clarity around, but there are also some real advantages.

“Everyone will continue to receive the same great quality drinking water and they’ll still be able to do everything they do now.”

Drysdale said a CCO would provide improvements around efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and would enable council to increase its other debt capacity “which would mean we could borrow more to invest in infrastructure upgrades where they are needed”.

Access

Engagement on the waters options will continue with iwi partners and stakeholders and the community will be asked for feedback alongside the draft annual plan consultation from late March.

If a decision is made to change the current water service delivery model, based on community feedback, any change to council’s delivery services structure would take effect from July 2026.

“Whatever delivery model we adopt, this plan is intended to ensure our community will always have access to clean, safe and reliable council-controlled water services,” Drysdale said.

For more information, visit: letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/localwaterdonewell

10 comments

No going back

Posted on 10-01-2025 18:53 | By scott

So ratepayers now have to pay for three waters under "local water done well " rather than central government entities under labours "3 waters" because of an anti labour campaign to stop 3 waters. The reason given, it was taking the 3 water infrastructure off the councils (rate payers). Now we end up with council rates, regional council rates and a new multi council "3 water rate" With the infrastructure and (current and future) costs of developing and maintaining them divided between each of the signed up councils then added to our total rates bill which wasn't going to be under 3 waters. Now as well as hiking our rates what else could possibly go wrong? after all our local councils have a sterling record of managing infrastructure and have a proven track record of delivering first class services at an excellent price.


I wonder

Posted on 10-01-2025 19:53 | By nerak

if our voices will be heard, unlike our experience with the commissioners...


Hmmm

Posted on 11-01-2025 12:02 | By Let's get real

So council wants to divest itself of responsibility for another core service and establish yet another management organisation that will presumably require ratepayer funding and highly paid unelected membership from the community.
Where have I encountered this before...?
Yet another method to get council funds from ratepayers stealthily, and get people that have no relevant qualifications or knowledge onto boards of governance.
So we will be seeing additional charges for rubbish removal, regional council, water consumption and now we might be paying for reticulated water supplies for rural communities in other council areas.
If councils weren't involving themselves in projects other than core interests, they would actually have the ability to provide those core services to a very high standard.
IT'S A CITY, NOT A THEME PARK.


MORE COST ?

Posted on 11-01-2025 14:09 | By glass1/2 full

Oh - the building contractors will be happy; yet another big, bright & beautiful building the rate payers will have to fund ??? PS Note to potential building site "must have lovely sea views" We all know just how much the multi councils take note of subsmissions- Yeah right.
....“Everyone will continue to receive the same great quality drinking water and they’ll still be able to do everything they do now.” .. but if we are to pay more where to we get the money from to "do everything we do now". ??? No wonder folk don't have gardens these days to help feed themselves - the water bill negates any benefit.


My choice?

Posted on 11-01-2025 18:10 | By Duegatti

I'd like it delivered through pipes and included in the general rate.
Thank you.


Think about this...

Posted on 12-01-2025 13:43 | By morepork

For a mere $90 million we could have a desalination plant that would produce 40 - 60 million litres a day, every day, winter, summer, all year round. Pure, delicious, water that is not dependent on storage or weather or climate change. No more watching your lawn die in the summer. We could do it at the current prices and it would pay for itself over 5 years. After that, it becomes a profit centre for the city (and water prices would NEVER need to increase...). Don't remove the current reticulation, just feed the Pacific Ocean into it... Am I a voice crying in the Wilderness? There is a better chance of an asteroid strike on the Strand than there is of any serious discussion of this option by TCC. (I did the research, they could too. It's not hard.)


@morepork

Posted on 12-01-2025 15:37 | By Let's get real

You and I are of a like mind...
And the salt could be sold to Dominion salt in Totara St into their refinery to supplement the lack of production in NZ and reduce the importation of salt from overseas.
HOWEVER, it would require some, probably, unproductive discussions with Maori leadership and would fail at the first hurdle.
It would certainly benefit the whole community to a far greater extent than the current constructions being undertaken and as you quite rightly state, it would actually create an income rather than drain our pockets.
But why create income when it's easier to increase rates...?


@Let's get real

Posted on 13-01-2025 12:48 | By morepork

Thanks for your positive response and I take your point about the salt. That's another bonus.
I don't share your pessimism about iwi objection; put the plant on Crown land near the sea if I'm wrong.
One of the objections will be that such a plant requires electricity. Guess where I'm going with that one? I calculate that 2 - 3 modern nuclear fusion power plants would see all of our electricity needs (including the implementation of EVs and Quantum computing) for the next 200 years, before they needed refuelling. A desalination plant, by itself would not need this; it DOES need power but not exorbitant amounts. My point is that we could solve both of what will be the most pressing future problems (water & power) if we just expanded our vision and stopped trying "same old, same old" solutions. Discuss these ideas, at least.


@morepork

Posted on 13-01-2025 19:14 | By Let's get real

Once again, we are in concensus.
I have been a big supporter of the idea to create small offshore nuclear power plants, where cooling waters and security issues are easier to manage.
My thoughts would be for a desalination plant built on the Te Tumu block, close to the Kaituna cut, and feeding the requirements of the new subdivisions.
These two "forward thinking" projects would probably benefit the entire community for many years into the future. Particularly when potable water will be the centre of many problems for the next generations.
I read somewhere, that we fail to produce sufficient salt for our own manufacturing industries, such as the dairy and food industries, at Lake Grassmere, and we are currently importing tonnes of salt from the Caribbean and Australia into the plant in Totara St.
Think Big projects perhaps..?


Thanks SunLive

Posted on 17-01-2025 11:34 | By morepork

For publishing the article and for printing the exchange between Let's get real and myself. I would LOVE to see the wider community engaging with these ideas. But, at least I know I am not the ONLY one who thinks these solutions are better long term. If TCC are truly interested in public feedback on the water, they should check desalination as a possible solution. Major cities in warm places around the world are already building such plants, even though they don't necessarily need them currently. (Los Angeles is a prime example...). We SHOULD be at least investigating the feasibility, and discussing pros and cons openly. My own research showed that the price of these plants is stabilizing and even coming down, and the technology is getting really excellent. A $90 million solution that pays for itself AND becomes a profit centre for the community is within our means.


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