Northland Waters

Northland Waters Ngā Wai o Te Tai Tokerau logo.

Whangarei, Kaipara and Far North district councils have agreed in principle to establish a Northland-wide council-controlled organisation (CCO) to deliver drinking water and wastewater services from July 2027.

Northland Waters, Ngā Wai o Te Tai Tokerau, will be a specialist, region-wide water services provider, delivering  these services on behalf of all three councils, subject to final decisions in the first half of 2026.

It will bring together expertise, scale and investment capability to deliver safe, reliable and resilient water services, while remaining responsive to local community needs.

Advantages for Northland

Northland Waters will provide Northland with advantages including:

  • improved customer outcomes through more consistent, transparent and region-wide service practices
  • better value through improved operational efficiency, reduced duplication and leveraging regional scale
  • improved price certainty through consistent regional planning and financial management
  • enhanced compliance performance by building region-wide capability to meet increasing regulatory requirements
  • acceleration of future growth by unlocking greater borrowing capacity
  • retention of local ownership while enabling a dedicated regional entity to operate more independently and effectively
  • reduced water wastage through consistent, region-wide approaches to monitoring and network management
  • establishment of clear, consistent performance targets and reporting expectations, improving transparency and accountability
  • greater transformation and innovation through coordinated procurement, modern data management and improved delivery approaches
  • coordinated region-wide planning and investment to water services delivery, aligned with catchment needs and shared regional priorities
  • standardised data, systems and compliance processes to deliver clearer reporting and more reliable decision-making
  • strengthened workforce capability by combining expertise, resources and career pathways across the region
  • freeing up councils to focus on wider community priorities by shifting water service delivery to a specialised provider.

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