February is decision month, in which South Wairarapa District Council will formalise its decision to join the joint Wairarapa + Tararua (Wai+T) WSDP (water services delivery plan) after exiting a Wellington Regional model option.
Council will also vote to continue work on a central government required “status quo” water delivery model, a model unlikely to be considered viable.
“Wai + T” is bureaucrat shorthand for the grouping of South Wairarapa, Carterton, Masterton and Tararua to develop a WSDP for the future of drinking water, waste water and storm water delivery/management across the four districts.
It took SWDC councillors less than half an hour on December 18 to approve the plan of work on the Wai + T and stand-alone models.
Wai + T comes with a government-supported funds option which allows a CCO (council controlled [water] organisation) to borrow up to 500 percent of its operating revenues.
Councillors also agreed at the Extraordinary meeting to include stormwater issues in the Wai + T plan. Some councillors questioned the proposal, but were advised other councils saw the benefit of including stormwater in the planning stages of the project.
Officials also noted that the finalised water services plan must address stormwater to even be considered by the Department of Internal Affairs, which has oversight of all such water projects.
Under the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 councils will retain legal responsibility and control of storm water services.
Council CEO Janice Smith advised the meeting that “storm water costs should be in the tent.”
Councils would need to discuss stormwater _ its monitoring, management, charging and collection.
Councillor Colin Olds noted that storm water will become “a bigger issue with the rainfall increase that is predicted” which will see “a lot more flowing onto properties.”
Participating councils will consider final decisions on the Wai + T option or enhanced status quo option during May/June 2025, and after consultation.
Public consultation on the proposals is flagged to occur during March/April across the region.
In a mid-January email of its “Community Focus” pamphlet (and attached quarterly rates account), Council advised it had “agreed to continue developing a joint Wairarapa + Tararua (Wai+T) WSDP (water services delivery plan) and exit a Wellington Regional model option.
“In March we will look for feedback on two water service delivery models options for South Wairarapa District Council.”
These will be:
- “a Wai+T water services delivery joint arrangement involving Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa, and Tararua district councils utilising a water services CCO model.
- “a status quo model which is a non-asset owning CCO (like Wellington Water Limited) delivering against new government requirements.
“This is a critical piece of work. It’s no secret that water infrastructure in South Wairarapa is suffering from historic underinvestment and uncertainty so it is important that we hear your views during the consultation,” it noted.
No cost figures have emerged so far, but the price tag for the current system’s mainenance and upgrades after decades of neglect is expected to be many billions of dollars.
The funds borrowing option will be critical.
