The Department of Internal Affairs has approved Stratford District Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP), allowing the council to now proceed with establishing an in-house business unit to manage the district’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services.

Following community consultation in May 2025, Stratford District Council (SDC) decided to retain water services in-house rather than join a regional water services organisation with New Plymouth District Council and South Taranaki District Council.

Mayor Neil Volzke says, “Stratford residents made it clear that they want their water managed locally. It’s great that the DIA agrees with the plan, and now we can get to work.”

“The three waters reform journey has been long, and over the last 12-24 months staff have been knee deep in analysis to determine what’s feasible for our community. This is a major milestone and one the team should be very proud of,” says Neil.

Chief Executive Sven Hanne says the in-house business unit will enable the continued integration of SDC’s water service delivery with its wider infrastructure programme, while taking into account community outcomes and maintaining the flexibility to adapt over time.

“Sustainable water services, both environmentally and financially, are hugely important to our community. Our WSDP outlines the best way forward for managing this important resource on behalf of our district, and we’re ready to crack on with it,” says Sven.

“We’ll now move forward with Council’s staged implementation plan to support service delivery and compliance, while the business unit is being established. This includes the development of a new Water Services Strategy, financial ringfencing and monitoring, and implementation of other requirements to align with new and amended legislations”.

“The new in-house business unit is set to be in place by 1 July 2027. While it won’t be a short process, we’ll continue to keep our community informed every step of the way.”

Stratford’s WSDP was assessed by an expert panel consisting of senior representatives from National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Limited, the Local Government Funding Agency, the Commerce Commission, the Water Services Authority, and the Department of Internal Affairs. The panel also included an external observer, whose role was to ensure the integrity and consistency of the Panel discussion.

The acceptance process involved financial and technical assessments to ensure it met the financial sustainability requirements. In addition, a legislative assessment ensured all requirements of the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 were met.

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