Source: Radio New Zealand
The Internal Affairs Department rejected Waitaki District’s standalone water services plan. RNZ
Waitaki District Council is again courting neighbouring councils for a joint water services plan after its bid to strike out alone was rejected by the Department of Internal Affairs.
The department turned down the council’s independent plan in October after it backed out of the Southern Waters partnership with the Central Otago, Clutha and Gore district councils.
Officials have appointed Crown facilitator Amy Adams to help the council resubmit its plan by June and carry out a full review of Waitaki’s water assets.
On Tuesday, councillors approved a plan to explore re-joining the Southern Waters group or partnering with Timaru District Council.
In a statement, a council spokesperson said the decision ended Waitaki’s efforts to keep its water services in-house and elected members would receive more information early next year to select a preferred option.
“Under any future model the community will lose nothing but instead gain the most affordable way to have clean water supplied to their homes, and drinking, waste and stormwater networks which meet high quality standards,” they said.
The decision to pursue an independent approach was not backed by Waitaki’s previous mayor Gary Kircher.
In August he told RNZ that could lead to rates rises of up to 40 percent over the next two years.
The Department of Internal Affairs ruled the in-house plan failed to meet regulatory requirements, did not include enough information about the condition of the water services and did not include enough funding to cover the district’s projected growth.
New Waitaki mayor Melanie Tavendale said the council’s mission was to deliver clean, safe water to every home, business, school and hospital in the district and to do so at the most affordable price to the ratepayer.
“We need to ensure that when people turn on the tap, they get clean water delivered through efficient pipework and when they flush the toilet, their sewage gets taken away and treated through a secure wastewater network,” she said.
That would inevitably come at some cost, Tavendale said.
“The infrastructure investment needed over the next two decades dwarfs the $50 million council has invested in its waters in the last six years. It can’t be deferred any more, it has to be done,” she said.
“Water isn’t like roads, it’s not part-paid by the government and the charges for water will not be subject to the proposed rates-cap, so finding the most affordable option is vital for everyone in the district.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
