Council yet to be convinced on Three Waters Reform

Ka¯ piti Coast District councillors stand firm in their commitment to achieve positive Three Waters outcomes for the community, irrespective of what the future holds under the proposed Three Waters Reform.

Mayor K Gurunathan said while the council was not opposed to the underlying principle of the Three Waters Reform — Te Mana o Te Wai, ensuring the health and wellbeing of all our waters — it’s yet to be convinced that joining Water Service Entity C will be good for Ka¯piti.

“There’s been a lot of talk and we are aware that many councils across the motu are banding together to oppose the reform, but from our perspective we’d prefer to wait to see what the Government stumps up with next.

“We’ve always said the devil is in the detail and we desperately need the next tranche of information, including visibility of the revised Water Services Bill, to enable us to meaningfully engage with our iwi partners and have a more informed conversation with our community.

“As it stands, Ka¯piti residents do not stand to benefit from the Three Waters Reform.

“This is incredibly disappointing given how much we’ve invested — and plan to invest — in making sure our three waters infrastructure is well serviced both now and into the future.

“There’s no denying Ka¯piti has a good track record of delivering quality drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater outcomes for our community.

“Our service levels are significantly better than our regional colleagues and we believe our costs will be manageable in the future.

“That’s why we remain of the view there is an alternative solution to what’s proposed which would still meet the Government’s objectives without punishing those that have proven you can turn things around.

“We think it’s time to rattle our own sabre.

“We are more than happy to share the Ka¯piti experience and welcome further discussion on what an alternative approach might look like with those advising decision-makers.”