Waimate wants public feedback on waters reform

Public consultation will be sought before the Waimate District Council makes a decision on the Three Waters reforms.

The Government has given all councils until the end of September to consider the proposals and offer feedback to the reforms, which will dramatically alter the way water is managed in the country.

Should the proposal go ahead, the country’s three waters management will be shifted from 67 territorial authorities to four separate regional authorities.

At Tuesday’s council meeting,

Waimate District mayor Craig Rowley said if the council was forced to make a decision now with the information provided, it would opt out of the reforms.

The Timaru District Council decided this week to opt out.

The Waimate council decided at Tuesday’s meeting that choosing to opt-in or opt-out of the reforms ‘‘would be premature and require consultation in both the urban and rural areas’’.

The council agreed a decision would only be made after public consultation, in line with its Significance and Engagement Policy and if it was forced to make the decision at this time, the council would recommend opting out of the proposed delivery model.

It ‘‘strongly and actively opposes the Government mandating the proposed entity model for water services delivery’’.

A survey will be sent to Waimate residents, from next week, seeking feedback on the proposals.

The council’s asset group manager Dan Mitchell added the report by Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS), contracted to research the country’s three waters services, was for New Zealand as a whole and not for individual districts.

‘‘It [the report] has the same assumptions for all councils,’’

Mitchell said.

The council received public feedback about the reform through 2021-2031 Long Term Plan submissions and a public forum held on August 9 with 350 Waimate residents in attendance.

Feedback from these showed:

■ Residents were concerned about the proposed structure removing democratic accountability over the entity,

■ that if an entity isn’t located in your region (and your council isn’t on the regional representative group) then your voice won’t be heard,

■ rural communities they would urban water, wastewater.

If the council was forced to make a decision now with the information provided, it would opt out of the reforms. Waimate mayor Craig Rowley

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