Decision approaches for future of water services
Published on 23 July 2025
Whangarei District Council will soon vote on the future of water services delivery, with a public Council meeting taking place on Thursday 24 July 2025.
The Northland Local Water Done Well Working Group, made up of elected members and staff from each council to explore collaboration opportunities across Northland, has carefully assessed the benefits and risks of the various options proposed by each district.
It has concluded that a Northland Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) for drinking water and wastewater services offers the strongest path forward for the region, and this recommendation will be taken to public council meetings of all three councils to be voted on in the coming weeks.
Whangarei District Council General Manager for Waters Andrew Carvell says, “Establishing a Council Controlled Organisation with Kaipara and the Far North would help ensure all of Northland can meet the increased compliance requirements under Local Water Done Well and address growth across the region, while ensuring charges are fair for the residents and ratepayers of each district.”
The working group has agreed to a model that would recognise the different starting points of each council in terms of water assets, debt levels and infrastructure investment needs.
This would be achieved by keeping financials ring-fenced for each district and having non-harmonised water charges. Non-harmonised means water charges are different for residents in each district. This would be reviewed during the first three years of operation.
“While we are not recommending to go with an in-house business unit, which was previously ours and the community’s preference, we have mitigated the key concerns raised during consultation and come up with a solution that benefits the region as a whole and keeps things fair for Whangārei ratepayers,” says Mr Carvell.
Kaipara District Council will vote on the recommendation at a public council meeting on Wednesday 30 July, and Far North on Thursday 31 July.
If all three councils vote in favour of the CCO, a commitment agreement will be prepared, before each council submits its water services delivery plan to Central Government in September 2025.
The target commencement date for a regional waters CCO would be July 2027.