The mayors of Wairarapa and Tararua are calling on residents of their respective districts to indicate their preference on one of the biggest council decisions in decades – how drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater will be managed in the future.

South Wairarapa, Carterton, Masterton, and Tararua district councils are consulting on whether water services should be managed under a new council-controlled water organisation for Wairarapa-Tararua or continue under existing approaches.

The change is part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well (LWDW) reforms, with all four district councils consulting separately with their communities.

“The way water services are managed is changing due to legislation, and we want our communities to tell us which option they prefer,” Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis, who chairs the Advisory Oversight Group for LWDW, said.

“The focus of Local Water Done Well is on delivering better water services and being financially sustainable.

"Each district has major infrastructure projects ahead, and councils face increasing responsibilities and regulations for drinking water, wastewater, and, in the future, stormwater - under the Government’s new regulator, the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai, and the economic regulator - the Commerce Commission.

“We need to be well-prepared to meet our communities’ water needs. Ratepayers and councils are being financially strained by the requirement of improved level of services, managing growth and the replacement of old assets that are at the end of their useful life and failing.

“Water services are a big part of what councils do, and this upcoming change is a huge and intergenerational decision - one that won’t just affect us today, but also our children, their grandchildren, and the future generations to come. The choice we make now will shape the future of something essential to us all - water.

“We cannot make a decision on this without hearing what our communities think, so we need people to share their views on their council’s proposal.

“Each council will have its own consultation document with its own range of options – but each will include the same information on the Wairarapa - Tararua proposal, as this is the shared option representing a multi-council-controlled organisation, we are each considering.”

The councils’ independent consultations start in March on the following dates:

• South Wairarapa District Council – 7 March-6 April
• Tararua District Council – 14 March-22 April
• Carterton District Council – 14 March-22 April
• Masterton District Council – 21 March-22 April

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