Waitaki District Council approves Water Services Delivery Plan

Published on 26 August 2025

At today’s meeting of the Waitaki District Council the governance team agreed to approve the Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) for an In-House Business Unit.

The plan outlines how water services will be delivered and financed in a manner that is compliant with the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms.  The Government requires all councils to submit a Water Services Delivery Plan that complies with the legislation for meeting drinking and wastewater standards and is financially sustainable, by 3 September 2025.

The Plan will be submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs, who will make a decision whether to approve it, seek amendments or reject it. Any proposed changes to the WSDP after the 3 September deadline will require approval from the Department of Internal Affairs.

Following community consultation the Council decided, on 8 July 2025, to keep water services inhouse. A series of five public workshops were held to develop the plan in July and August. The Department of Internal Affairs, Bancorp, the Local Government Finance Association, Morrison Low and the Council’s Finance and Assets Team all gave presentations and answered questions from the Mayor and Councillors about the development of the plan.

The draft plan proposes water charge increases of 62% in the 2026/27 financial year, and a total of 135% in water charge increases between 2024 and 2034.

This means a proposed average rates rise of 26% in 2026/27.

It will also likely require an amendment to the Long Term Plan 2025-2034, to be undertaken by the Mayor and Councillors elected at the upcoming 2025 Local Government elections.

Council will inform the community about the response from the Department of Internal Affairs when it receives one.

The Draft Water Services Delivery Plan can be found on Council's Meetings and Agendas page.

ENDS