Waikato District Council faces new beginnings as Watercare pulls out
Sarah Morcom
Watercare has withdrawn from their contract with Waikato District Council, but mayor Jacqui Church isn’t worried.
What’s more frustrating for her is the lack of communication from central government regarding water service policies.
The council is an expert at finding great water solutions, Church told the Waikato Times in an interview, and by the time Watercare’s contract ends in June 2026, she’s positive the council will smoothly transition into whatever comes next.
“I’m really confident that we’ll get the best possible solution we can. We’ve been on this journey for a long time, not all councils have been focusing on their water journey as long as we have,” she said.
“We’ve had this Watercare agreement in place since 2018 but we were working on it in 2015 and 2016, so we’re quite agile in the potential options that are out there.”
But one road-block is a lack of certainty, and what legislation is still to come.
“We’ll have more information from central government - sooner rather than later would be what I ask,” Church said.
“There’s been an awful lot of work done around waters, and we’re ready to have adopted that now, and deliver what the government needs in terms of GDP jobs and housing.”
Watercare began operating Waikato district’s water, wastewater and stormwater services in October 2019.
They opted to withdraw from their contract, as it felt a need to change its focus under National’s Local Water Done Well plan. It’s unclear how much the contract’s end will affect rates, or how it will affect budgeting for water services.
However, Watercare’s chief operating officer Mark Bourne said this change would have happened anyway under three waters.
“With the Water Services Act now officially repealed and details of the new government’s Local Water Done Well approach to be confirmed, we feel it is the right time to reassess the terms of the contract.” Bourne said staff at the Ngāruawāhia Watercare service will be well looked after, and it’s a key priority to ensure they are well-prepared to transition in 2026.
Watercare’s decision to withdraw from the contract came in the same week that
Waikato District Council made the decision to switch from a long term plan to an enhanced annual plan.
Due to policy changes in central government, specifically surrounding water services, councils were given the option to switch from their long term plan to an enhanced annual plan to allow for more planning time to include Local Water Done Well.
A lack of clarity around the water policy changes was a factor in council taking this option, Church said.
“There’s still some unknowns as to the implications for the next two years, and over the next year we’ll have a better idea of what those impacts will be.”
The planning for Local Water Done Well will stay much the same for the first stage of planning, but Church said the second stage will depend on what information comes from the government.