Greater Wellington Regional Council

Media release

26 June 2014

Regional Council approves proposal to combine water services

Greater Wellington Regional Council has today formally approved the proposal for integrated delivery of water services across Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley.

Under the proposal, the Regional Council’s bulk water supply function will merge with Capacity Infrastructure into a new entity. Capacity is currently owned by Wellington, Porirua, Hutt and Upper Hutt city councils and manages retail water, storm water and waste water in the Wellington metropolitan area.

The Regional Council and other Councils will continue to own their water assets and determine their annual program of work, but they will be managed by the new entity with a regional emphasis on quality service delivery.

The decision is part of a wider push by councils in the region to realise the benefits of shared services across the region.

Regional Council Chair Fran Wilde says that the integration of water services is an example of the many opportunities for efficiency that exist across the region.

“Integration of water services in the Wellington metropolitan area has very real benefits, especially in terms of forward planning. It means broader decisions can be made, taking into account the whole water network. It will also mean less duplication of systems and resources.”

Following today’s approval by the Regional Council, the four current shareholding councils will be asked to give their formal approval to the regional council becoming a shareholder in the new entity. They will also confirm the terms of reference for the establishment of a joint water committee (made up of representatives from the five shareholding councils) to oversee water services.

At today’s meeting the Council appointed Cr Fran Wilde as the Regional Council’s representative on the Wellington Water Committee and Cr Jenny Brash as the alternate representative.

A new company name to reflect its wider mandate will be determined by the joint water committee, when established.

The proposal for GWRC to become a shareholder in Wellington Water was consulted on using the special consultative procedure as part of the Regional Council’s 2014/15 Annual Plan consultation process.

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