Wellington Water to be replaced by new stand-alone entity next year

Wellington's troubled water services provider will be replaced with a new stand-alone entity by this time next year, which councils say will be less costly for ratepayers.

Upper Hutt City Council today agreed to back the "reset", which already had the support of Porirua, Lower Hutt and Wellington City Councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry, who chairs the Wellington Water Committee, welcomed today's "milestone", saying the decision marked "a reset for water services in the region".

Unlike Wellington Water, the new entity would own the water infrastructure that was currently owned by councils, which meant it would be able to generate its own income, manage its own debt, and "not be constrained by council funding".

"The new entity unlocks the financial tools needed to make smart investments in water infrastructure, without placing an unsustainable burden on ratepayers.

"It will enable better decision-making across the entire network and ensure more consistent service delivery."

Turning around "historical underinvestment" in water infrastructure would take time and water bills would still increase under the new entity to meet the needs of the region's ageing network, he admitted.

However, high-level modelling showed that any rise in water charges would be about 30% less than what households would face under the current model.

"Our main goal is to introduce a new way of delivering water services that allows for more investment in the network with an entity that is more efficient; while keeping costs more affordable and sustainable over the long-term," Barry said.

The entity will be governed by a board of independent professional directors who will be appointed by a steering committee of council and iwi representatives.

The decision comes as part of the government's Local Water Done Well reform, which requires councils to decide on a long term water services model and submit delivery plans by September 2025.

The new entity will take over the ownership and management of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure by July 1, 2026.

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