Council to consider preferred future water services delivery model

Elected members will next week decide on a preferred option for consultation on future delivery of water services in the Rotorua district.

Rotorua Lakes, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki and Kawerau councils have undertaken a joint investigation into the potential for an asset-owning multi-council water services council-controlled organisation (WSCCO).

That has now been completed and at next Wednesday’s (23 September) Council meeting Rotorua elected members will consider the findings and decide on a preferred option for future delivery of water services.

They will be asked to approve public consultation on the preferred option, scheduled for October with a final decision to follow consultation.

The investigation by a working group that included mayors and councillors of the four districts, followed approval of the respective councils’ Water Services Delivery Plans which were a requirement under the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy.

Following community consultation, Rotorua Lakes Council’s delivery plan took a staged approach with Council deciding that water services (water supply, stormwater and wastewater) would be delivered in-house until July 2028, dependent on the outcome of investigations into a potential WSCCO. Council’s fall-back option is an in-house business unit.

The working group investigation was completed in August following delivery of a final technical report on assessment of options considered. This found that an asset-owning WSCCO offered the stronger potential to deliver against agreed objectives, with in-house delivery meeting current requirements but coming under growing pressure over time.

The report also provides an overview of current service delivery across the four districts, including water assets and infrastructure, Treaty settlement obligations, iwi and hapū engagement, asset condition and renewals, planned investment, compliance requirements, financial positions, and key risks and challenges.

Three delivery models were assessed against seven strategic objectives supported by each council and adopted by the working group.

The strategic objectives:

• Efficient and financially sustainable delivery of water services for the communities of the district, now and into the future.
• Protects and promotes public health and the environment, meeting regulatory requirements.
• Water services are resilient to natural hazards, seismic risk and climate change.
• Integrated water services and infrastructure planning that promotes efficient, equitable and integrated delivery.
• Affordable, fit-for-purpose service to consumers and communities tht meets the needs and expectations of the district.
• Council obligations to hapū and iwi are valued and honoured.
• Impact on remaining council operations and viability.

The models assessed:

• An internal business unit (the current delivery model) would meet statutory requirements over the next 10 years, but faces significant long-term sustainability challenges.
• An asset-owning WSCCO has potential for strong future benefits and detailed financial comparisons and development of possible governance and representation mechanisms will allow fuller consideration of the relative advantages and disadvantages of this option.
• A service delivery only WSCCO – however this was considered unlikely to be a fit-for-purpose or sustainable long-term solution due to additional complexity it would introduce.

A multi-council WSCCO would be expected to deliver water services at a lower run cost to consumers than current operating models and/or enable greater levels of investment to be delivered within currently projected revenue.

Rotorua-specific findings:

• Rotorua has less immediate financial pressure and is better positioned to continue in-house delivery of water services in the short to medium term.
• A multi-council WSCCO offers material long-term benefits.
• Rotorua households would receive the largest per-connection savings across a period of years.
• Rotorua benefits from greater financing capability, access to specialist capability and as a larger organisation is better able to respond to future regulatory, resilience and workforce pressures.

The combined WSCCO would be less viable for the other councils if Rotorua opted to remain in-house.

The three eastern Bay of Plenty councils were also to determine their preferred options at meetings scheduled for this month.

Go to p18 of the Rotorua Council meeting agenda to read the full report on this matter. See link below.

You'll find the Council meeting agenda and related documents at the following link: Council Meeting - 23/09/2026 - Rotorua Lakes Council

Next Wednesday’s meeting will be held in the Council Chamber starting at 9.30am and members of the public are welcome to attend the public section.

The meeting will also be livestreamed and can be watched live or later via Council’s YouTube channel: Rotorua Lakes Council - YouTube

See the following link on Council’s website for more information about Local Water Done Well and the investigation into the potential for a multi-council WSCCO: Local Water Done Well - Rotorua Lakes Council