Rationalisation of Water Services Supported

Rationalisation of water services in the Greater Wellington region into one business makes sense says Water New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Murray Gibb. Commenting on the Local Government Commission’s proposals for local government reform in the region released today, he said that the benefits of scaling up water utilities were well proven.

“If properly managed, replacing nine water businesses with one serving 500,000 people will bring significant savings. These can be used to fund capital expenditure and improve service levels,” he said.

“For example, Scotland has had one water utility servicing the whole country since 2002. By scaling up it has cut costs by 40 per cent and been able to get its water infrastructure and service levels up to speed.”

“What people often overlook is that local government is basically about providing water and roads. Together these make up two thirds of councils’ expenditure, so it makes sense to look at ways of delivering them more efficiently.

“The report highlights the challenges ahead in providing these services. Across the Wellington region almost half of the pipes are in poor condition and the largely unbudgeted cost of replacing them is between $1.7 billion and $2.6 billion,” he said.

“It also clarifies the challenges facing the region in servicing towns such as Masterton with static and declining populations and in meeting standards under the recently released revised National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.”

“The only way these will be met is by driving the regions’ water management systems more efficiently so scaling up is the way to go,” said Mr Gibb.

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Water New Zealand is an independent not for profit association of water professionals and organisations. It is the country's largest water industry body, providing leadership and support in the water sector through advocacy, collaboration and professional development. Members are drawn from all areas of the water management industry including regional councils and territorial authorities, consultants, suppliers, government agencies and scientists. See www.waternz.org.nz for more information.

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