Public consultation is now open on one of the biggest decisions Lower Hutt residents will face for many decades - how to fund and deliver water services.

In late 2023, the Government announced a new direction for water policy and legislation called Local Water Done Well. It requires councils across the country to decide, alongside their communities, what approach they will take to delivering water services.

Hutt City Council has been working on a proposal with neighbouring councils: Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City Council, and Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Collectively, councils have agreed on a preferred option of a multi-council-owned organisation that would own and operate public drinking water, wastewater and stormwater networks - at significantly less cost than the alternative.

The new organisation would own all the pipes and infrastructure, could borrow more than councils currently can to fund infrastructure, and would bill for water services and communicate with customers directly.

As well as the preferred option, the consultation will also consider a second option - a modified version of the current Wellington Water model. Under this model, councils would retain ownership of the water networks, funded by rates and subject to the limited debt levels set for councils.

Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry says the current delivery of water services is broken and not serving ratepayers. This consultation is a chance for people to consider a future where investment in water services is much more sustainable and affordable.

"Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy fix. It’s inevitable that the cost of water services will increase under either option, given the poor state of our infrastructure and the backlog of investment needed.

"However, our financial modelling shows that our preferred option would be about a third less costly than the status quo," he says

Mayor Barry encourages everyone with a stake in the future of Lower Hutt’s water services to have their say before consultation closes on 4 April. Councillors will consider the feedback and make a decision at a meeting on 27 June.

Find out more, read the full consultation document and give feedback at hutt.city/futurewater

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