Waikato District Council in talks with Auckland's Watercare Services and Waikato-Tainui

Monday, 12 June 2017

Waikato District Council mayor Alan Sanson is in talks with Watercare and Waikato-Tainui over a water model for the district.

Waikato District Council is in informal talks with Auckland City Council-owned Watercare Services Ltd and Waikato-Tainui to form a three-way company to manage district water.

Council felt forced to act after Hamilton City and Waipa District councils dithered over similar discussions to set up a council-controlled organisation (CCO) to manage water for the three areas.

That's still preferred, but Waikato District is hedging its bets.

That preference is a CCO which owns all Waikato's assets - pipes, etc - along with Hamilton's and Waipa's. Savings from that option were, according to the 2015 Cranleigh Report, $468 million over 28 years across all councils.

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Waikato District Council is now looking at a fourth option, chief executive Gavin Ion said.

'We investigated a Watercare option alongside three other options and decided at that stage [in 2015] the best option was to go with an asset-owning CCO with the three councils,' Ion said. 'Things have changed.'

Waikato's fourth 'Watercare option: was investigated alongside the Cranleigh Report.

When the three councils agreed on a preferred option, the Watercare report was shelved.

'We said, okay, let's have another look at that option,' Ion said.

A Waters Governance Group with membership from Hamilton, Waipa and Waikato was established and work on the preferred option was signed off in 2016.

That was before local body elections. A decision could not be made until after new councils were sworn in.

'Where does that leave us?' said Waikato Mayor Allan Sanson. 'We need to look at what's best for our district which is no different to what they are saying.

'We are reinvestigating to see what those opportunities may mean.'

Watercare already works in the Waikato district and has done for seven years, Sanson said.

It provides drinking water and wastewater to Pokeno and Tuakau, takes water from the Waikato River and stores water at Hunua.

'We already have a strong relationship with Watercare,' Sanson said. 'When we've had problems and have been short of resources, they've been happy to send people down here to help.

'That relationship has grown and out of that has grown these opportunities.'

Sanson said it's not about Auckland extending its reach in Waikato - his council is going to the Watercare well to find a cost-effective option for ratepayers.

'They have resources that any other district in New Zealand would only dream to have.'

It makes sense to leverage off existing relationships with Watercare and Waikato-Tainui, he said.

Discussions have not progressed past the informal stage and changes to the current working relationship have not been considered.

A joint management agreement between council and Waikato-Tainui means iwi inclusion in the process 'just makes sense'.

'There is no reason why they shouldn't be in the tent here with us in these discussions, considering their connection to the river and our connection to the river.'

The Hamilton, Waipa, Waikato CCO option is still 'very much on the table', Sanson said. Council will weigh up all options and make a decision after public consultation which is 'a way off yet'.

'I think we would struggle to come up with any option which would supersede the one we originally agreed on. That was some pretty spectacular savings for the three councils.

'There are opportunities and merit in both options at the moment.'