'Could Have Just Sent Them Links': Value Of Nelson's Water Plan Questioned

Wednesday, 13 August 2025, 5:20 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

Nelson City Council staff have spent hundreds of hours on a new water plan to give to the Government, but its contents are no different to what it had been planning to do anyway. 

Councils are required to develop water delivery plans under the Government's Local Water Done Well reforms. 

The plans, a one-off during the transition period, are intended to prove that councils’ delivery of water services meets regulations, supports growth and development, and is financially stable. 

Nelson intends to deliver its water alone, rather than joining forces with neighbouring councils as is being pursued elsewhere. 

The city’s 133-page plan assesses its water infrastructure, signals how much investment was needed, outlines how its water services would be funded, and even goes as far as to estimate how many metres of wastewater pipes should be replaced in the year 2127 (around 75m). 

Council staff are estimated to have spent 600 hours compiling the plan, which can be quantified as $75,000 of staff time. 

But the value of the work for Nelson residents has been called into question. When presented with the plan on Thursday, councillor James Hodgson asked if the work done developing the plan had resulted in better outcomes for residents. 

“Is it any different than what we would have done as business-as-usual?” The reply from Phil Ruffell, the council’s utilities activity manager, was emphatic. 

“Absolutely not,” he said. 

“The plan that we’re sending to the Department of Internal Affairs is just word-for-word out of our [Activity Management Plans] and our Long-Term Plan, with a little bit of commentary by me, in their prescribed template. We could have just sent them links.” 

The city’s confidence in its water was highlighted further by councillor Tim Skinner, who asked if the council’s plan could be renamed to ‘Water Already Done Well’. 

But Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the Government has deliberately taken a national approach to address “longstanding issues” in the water sector. 

“These issues are not limited to drinking water quality matters and include an infrastructure deficit resulting from years of underinvestment in water services.” 

Stage 2 of the inquiry into the Havelock North Campylobacteria outbreak found that there was “a widespread systemic failure among water suppliers to meet the high standards required for the supply of safe drinking water”. 

“Our approach is underpinned by the principles of financially sustainable Water Services Plans that meet all regulatory requirements,” the Minister said. 

“Councils who can demonstrate they meet these requirements will have their plans accepted, no matter what service delivery model they choose.” 

He added that the Government has been careful to reduce the overall compliance burden on water service providers to keep costs manageable, such as by changing the drinking water quality regulatory regime and its new approach to wastewater standards. 

Despite Nelson’s confidence in the delivery of its water services, the city was facing an impending “bow wave” of renewals post-2030. 

Council chief executive Nigel Philpott said he was proposing to allocate 75 per cent of capital budgets on renewals, rather than the historic rate of around 33 per cent, to ensure that the city’s infrastructure remained in good condition. 

The suggestion would be debated by elected members during next year’s Long-Term Plan discussions. Nelson’s water services delivery plan will be submitted to the DIA, which has the final say on the plan, by 3 September. 

-Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

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