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.

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.

“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