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Local Water Done Well

Latest updates:

21 June 2026: Mayors agreed to confirm iwi representation on the WWG. Discussions showed broad support for a shareholder representative forum, shareholding approach with further work needed on voting arrangements and iwi representation. A technical report will be considered in July and finalised in August 2026, after which councils will decide whether to consult on establishing a joint organisation.

You can view summaries of meetings of the Regional Waters Working Group (WWG) and other updates at the bottom of this page.

What is Local Water Done Well?

Local Water Done Well is the Coalition Government’s plan to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges. It recognises the importance of local decision making and flexibility for communities and councils to determine how their water services will be delivered now in the future.

Councils across New Zealand have had to decide how they will deliver water, wastewater and stormwater services in future as part of requirements under Local Water Done Well.

Ministerial press releases and other updates - (dia.govt.nz)

Rotorua Lakes Council's position

Rotorua Lakes Council is responsible for the provision of core and lifeline services that support the wellbeing of the Rotorua community. Currently, this includes the water services of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater.

Following community consultation Rotorua Lakes Council has made the decision to keep water services in-house for now and move to a multi-council model from 2028.

Following a detailed assessment of the advantages of a potential multi-council grouping, a decision will be made in 2027 about whether to have water services delivered by a multi-council or Rotorua Lakes Council CCO.

Water Services Delivery Plans

Councils were required to develop Water Services Delivery Plans (Plans) to demonstrate their commitment to delivering waters services that meet regulatory requirements, support growth and urban development and are financially sustainable.

Through these plans, councils were to provide an assessment of their current waters infrastructure, how much they need to invest in the future, and how they plan to finance and deliver it through their preferred service delivery model.

View the following link (Water Services Policy and Water Services Delivery Plans - (dia.govt.nz)) for more about Water Services Policy and Water Services Delivery Plans on the Department of Internal Affairs website.

RLC Water Services Delivery Plan

Water Services delivery model

Councils were required to determine how they will deliver waters services in future and under Local Water Done Well legislation there are a variety of delivery models from which to choose.

Councils are also able to design their own alternative arrangements, as long as these meet minimum conditions including regulatory standards, financial sustainability through ringfencing of water services and restrictions against privatisation.

Under Local Water Done Well financial model options have also been provided, along with a new regulatory regime for water services.

View the following links for more about water services Future Delivery System and an Overview of delivery models on the Department of Internal Affairs website.

Water Services Policy Future Delivery System - (dia.govt.nz)
Overview of water services delivery models August 2024 - (PDF, 248KB)​

Planned investment

Infrastructure is a priority for Council and the 2024-2034 Long-term Plan includes investment of $427.5m in water supplies ($90.9m), stormwater ($169.2m) and wastewater ($167.4m) infrastructure across the next 10 years.

This includes $84m from the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund for flood management and stormwater infrastructure that will enable housing.

These investments include for the maintenance, operations, renewal and upgrade of our local networks.

Council’s 30-year infrastructure strategy - (PDF, 2.2MB) sets out the current state of core infrastructure in the Rotorua district, the challenges that need to be at the forefront of long-term planning and decision-making and the proactive plan for maintaining, renewing and upgrading our networks.

Decision-making timeline

  • December 2024 - DIA Local Water Done Well presentation at Rotorua Lakes Council meeting (presentation slides (PDF, 284KB). View the 11 December 2024 meeting video.
  • December 2024 - Local Government (Water Services) Bill introduced to Parliament.
  • September 2024 - Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements Act 2024) enacted and establishes the Local Water Done Well legislation.
  • September 2024 - Infrastructure and Environment Committee direct officers to develop Water Services Delivery Plan on basis of in-house model, while other options are explored.
  • February 2024 - Repel of previous water services legislation.

Frequently asked questions:

Local Water Done Well is the Government’s plan to improve New Zealand’s water infrastructure. It aims to strengthen local decision-making and gives councils more flexibility in decision making, while introducing national rules for service delivery, economic regulation, consumer protection, and updated water quality standards that all water services authorities must comply with.

The Local Water Done Well legislation requires Councils across New Zealand to consider and decide how they will deliver water, wastewater and stormwater services in future. The legislation covers service delivery systems, economic regulation, and consumer protection for water services, while introducing changes to the water quality regulatory framework to protect users.

As part of the requirements, Rotorua Lakes Council has developed a Water Services Delivery Plan which outlines how water services will be delivered over the next 10 years. Government approved our 10-year Water Services Delivery Plan in October 2025, you can view it here: ECM_21434119_v2_Draft Water Services Delivery Plan

We’re committed to developing a model that works best for Rotorua so water services will remain in-house with no changes until 2028, while we carry out a detailed assessment of the merits of a potential multi-council partnership and a new combined entity with Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, and Whakatāne district councils.

Next steps:

  • Water services remain in-house until 1 July 2028 while the Regional Waters Working Group investigates a multi-council organisation. 
  • From 1 July 2028, services could be managed by this multi-council organisation if that is the Group’s report recommendation. 
  • After the report, Council will decide whether to join the multi-council organisation. 
  • If the decision is to not join, our fallback position is services will continue to be managed in-house but in a manner that meets all regulatory requirements. 

  • Financial forecasts for each council, Rotorua Lakes Council’s own water business unit, and a joint water services organisation, across both 10year and 30year timeframes.
  • Agreeing on the criteria that will determine whether the joint organisation is the best option.
  • Learning from other councils that have already set up water service organisations (like Waikato Water, Southern Water, and Selwyn’s CCO) so we can understand what worked well and what didn’t.
  • Agreeing on expected cost savings, including when they would happen.
  • Testing alternative scenarios, such as:
  • If one or more larger councils choose to not join.
  • If one or more rural councils decide to not join.

All of the financial and non-financial information used for the study will come from the water services delivery plans already approved by the participating councils.

The detailed investigation will compare both models and look at long-term financial sustainability, service levels, risk, and what’s best for Rotorua communities. This will give elected members the information they need to make a sound decision in 2027.

In December 2025, Rotorua Lakes Council, Kawerau District Council, Whakatāne District Council and Ōpōtiki District Council confirmed their shared commitment to work together to investigate a joint operating model for delivering water services to their communities and signed a Heads of Agreement.

As part of that investigation a Regional Waters Working Group (WWG) was established.

Each council will be represented on the WWG by the Mayor and two elected members, supported by the Chief Executive and relevant technical or lead staff from their respective councils.

Yes. Council asked for community feedback in April 2025. After considering that feedback, Council chose to keep water services in-house for now and to carry out a detailed assessment of a possible multi-council partnership. A final decision on whether to join a shared model will be made in 2027.

Councils must decide how they will provide water services in the future. The Local Water Done Well legislation provides a range of delivery options to choose from.

Councils can also design their own approach, provided it meets basic requirements such as regulatory standards, keeping water service funding separate, and rules that prevent privatisation.

Yes. The 2025/26 Annual Plan includes funding to cover the expected costs of carrying out the detailed study.

Not immediately. The study itself doesn’t change rates or charges, but its findings will help shape decisions about how water services are funded and delivered in the future.

The Local Water Done Well project webpage is updated frequently. It includes a detailed decision timeline and links to meeting minutes, presentations and related documents. Programme progress will be reported monthly and quarterly at the full Council meetings.

Regional Waters Working Group (WWG) Meeting Summaries and Other Updates

  • Mayors agreed to confirm the approach for iwi representation at WWG by 28 June 2026, noting the WWG role will complete in August 2026 after acceptance of the technical report. Following this, it will be up to individual councils to decide on progressing with consultation on progressing a joint Water Services Organisation.
  • Key discussions focussed around ownership, representation and governance of a joint water service organisation. There was general support for a shareholder representative forum, shareholding approach, further work required to confirm final voting details and iwi representation.
  • A full technical report will be tabled at the July 2026 meeting to seek feedback, before finalising in August 2026.

WWG provided advice to the LWDW team to progress technical analysis on the basis of transferring all three waters to a joint WSO (Water, Wastewater and Stormwater). Team to consider if LG simplification were to progress how additional floodwater / catchment scheme assets may be able to be considered by a future WSO.

Councils to urgently consider request from iwi to:

-Firstly, determine if iwi should be represented in the Council Working Group

-Secondly, consider a joint council / iwi technical team to determine how best to accommodate iwi representation.

Note the focus of the next WWG will be around ownership, representation and governance.

Executive summary of minutes for Water Working Group (WWG) meeting held at Rotorua Lakes Council:

  • WWG agreed that staff should progress analysis based on two options (i) In house business unit, and (ii) Asset owning Water Service Organisation. It was noted that the Service delivery Water Service Organisation was sub-optimal, the rationale for discounting this option after initial analysis would be included in the final report and clearly communicated.
  • Staff were seeking direction on whether to include three waters (Water, Wastewater and Stormwater) OR two waters (Water and Wastewater) in the development of future technical analysis. Direction was not confirmed as further information was requested around financial modelling of Stormwater and more detail on roles and responsibilities. This information will be tabled at a future WWG for direction.
  • Draft financial assessments were tabled, with 30 year modelling being prepared for the May 2026 WWG.
  • It was noted that the regional communications and engagement approach is being delivered against, with clear communications protocol in place after each WWG meeting. A regional approach on iwi engagement was discussed, it was agreed to progress at a local level with further opportunities for regional engagement to be explored.

A report is being prepared for later in 2026 to outline the long term financial and non-financial savings and costs, levels of service, resilience and sustainability and capability that would be associated with any potential move to a shared water entity.

See more here Local Water Done Well update - Rotorua Lakes Council

Executive summary of minutes for third Water Working Group (WWG) meeting, held at Kawerau:

  • WWG re-iterated the need to progress with communications and engagement as soon as possible to ensure our communities and iwi partners work alongside the LWDW team as we progress this mahi
  • MartinJenkins provided details on the technical analysis approach, with a report due in July 2026. MartinJenkins highlighted areas of advice that will be required from the WWG as we progress through the development of the technical report.

On 11 March a workshop was held to update Rotorua elected members on the progress of the work that is underway. You can view a recording at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBWBTTm01UQc3Hnri7fU9BQ

Executive summary of minutes for Water Working Group (WWG) meeting held at Ōpōtiki District Council:

  • Max Baxter has been confirmed as the independent advisor for the Waters Working Group (WWG), funded by DIA until June 2026. He will support the WWG and wider elected members as required.
  • The investigation of a joint WSO (Water Service Organisation) is on track, with a vendor appointed to carry out the technical analysis. The vendor is Martin Jenkins and they will be producing a technical report alongside council staff by August 2026 to help inform councils’ decision-making.
  • The communications teams for the four councils have been working on a communications and engagement approach, initial feedback was provided by the WWG, this approach will be tabled with individual councils at workshops planned for March 2026.

Executive summary of working group meeting held at Rotorua Lakes Council:

  • This is the second Water Working Group (WWG) meeting held, with the Heads of Agreement (HoA) signed in December 2025. This HoA agrees that we will jointly investigate a joint Water Service Organisation, with final decision making to come back to each council in early 2027.
  • At the WWG meeting on 2 February 2026 we discussed (i) future work programme and the need for technical support, (ii) potential candidates for the WWG independent advisor – funded by DIA (Department of Internal Affairs), and (iii) potential strategic objectives that can be used to support our analysis of a joint WSO against a stand-alone option for future water service delivery.
  • The WWG is an advisory group only and relevant information will come back to individual councils as part of a workshop in March 2026 to seek feedback on the proposed technical analysis approach and potential engagement options.
  • It was noted that we need to elevate the community conversations alongside the completion of any technical analysis. A communications and engagement plan will be prepared for discussion at the Waters Working Group on 23 February 2026. This engagement will be confirmed with all councils through workshops in March 2026.
  • The WWG supported Max Baxter as a potential Independent advisory. Max is the ex-Mayor of Ōtorohanga District Council and has had good insight into the development of the Waikato Water Done Well (WWDW) joint Water Service Organisation.
  • It was noted that procurement for the technical analysis to support the Water Working Group / Council decision making will be through a targeted procurement approach due to the technical nature and limited number of companies with relevant capabilities to carry out this work. It is intended to finalise procurement for this vendor before the 23 February 2026.

Mayors and Chief Executives from Rotorua Lakes Council, Kawerau District Council, Whakatāne District Council and Ōpōtiki District Council came together today at the inaugural meeting of the regional Joint Waters Working Group, held in Rotorua.

They signed a Heads of Agreement to investigate the potential development of a combined multi-council Water Service Delivery entity.

This follows government approval of water services delivery plans and will reflect the needs, culture and values of each communities and help inform each Council’s decision on future delivery of water services for their district.

See more here Councils commit to a joint water services investigation - Rotorua Lakes Council

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