Changes and Challenges

We need to change the way we deliver water services.

We are asking our community what they would like to see for the future delivery of water services in Hawke’s Bay. This is an important topic that needs public voice and views. Local Water Done Well has flexibility for councils to choose the model and governance structure that works best for their community.

We don’t yet know what form our future water services will take but we do know we need to change the way we do things. There are two pathways open to us: ‘go it alone’ or work together with other councils in our region. 

If we were to ‘go it alone’ we could either deliver water services from a ringfenced, in-house delivery model or from a council-controlled organisation. Across the country, different councils are looking at different models. There is no one-size-fits-all and there are pros and cons with all avenues. 

Regardless of which model is chosen we know the cost of water will increase, there will be economic regulation to ensure financial sustainability, and we will have higher standards for environmental and water services regulation. 

In identifying our preferred option, we assessed three options against six criteria weighted in terms of importance to our community. Although there are some benefits in moving forward with a Napier only model, our preferred option is to work together across the region. We believe this will be better overall, in the long term.

As part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well reform and its associated legislation, all councils must consult with their communities on how they will manage and deliver water services in the future. 

Hawke’s Bay’s population is growing at an average rate of 5.2% per annum and expected to surpass 200,000 by 2048. In the face of climate change we are seeing more and more frequent severe weather events. As well as building resilience into our critical infrastructure, we must ensure it is future-proofed and sized correctly to support future demand.

Through this reform, central government intends to address the issues faced and future-proof the nation’s most critical assets. A key feature of this reform is it focuses on empowering local councils to determine their own model for future water services delivery, while implementing increased oversight of the way water assets are managed.

Under Local Water Done Well policy, we have the option of keeping our water services in-house, but with some big changes to meet the new requirements, meaning continuing with the ‘status quo’ for delivering water services is not an option. Alternatively, we could set up an independently run ‘water organisation’, which we would own – either by ourselves or jointly with other councils – to deliver our water services.

While each option has its pros and cons, in the context of the Government’s approach to water service delivery in the future, scale brings value for many reasons. While there is no doubt the cost of water services is going to increase, our modelling shows the more people (and water connections to homes and businesses) we have contributing to costs, the more affordable we can make it for our communities in the future.

This decision will shape the future of water services in our district for generations to come.