In a win for the Waimate community, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has approved Council’s plan for the in-house management of our water services.
Years of hard work and expert analysis went into the forming of Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan which met every legislative, financial and regulatory requirement under the Local Water Done Well legislation. The plan was developed following overwhelming community support with 87% of submissions supporting an in-house model.
The approval by DIA is a proud moment for our district validating the very essence of local decision-making, putting the local in charge of local government.
“As a Council, we have consistently invested in our water infrastructure, and our prudent financial management meant that we were confident that we could provide water affordably and efficiently ourselves,” says Mayor Craig Rowley. “Waimate District has always been a champion of localism, and now we’ve proven it. Our plan approved by DIA showed and proved our ability to plan, fund and manage our water services for years to come.”
This is only the beginning of what will be a long, challenging but exciting journey.
Council will commence work on setting up an Internal Business Unit for managing and delivering water services. The unit’s finances will be ring-fenced, which means that all water revenue will be used for water alone.
This singular focus on water will be aided by the establishment of a Water Services Committee which will make recommendations to Council and have some delegated authority. Council will retain full decision-making authority.
The Internal Business Unit will be set up by 30 June 2026, and be responsible for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services. While this is a big change for Council, we want to assure everyone that it will have no impact on the delivery of water services.
Mayor Rowley adds, “This was the most important decision Council made in decades and one that will impact us for decades. I want to congratulate and thank everyone in our district, Council staff, stakeholders, partners, experts and our community. We promised this is your water and it would be your decision. We’ve kept that promise.”
You can find Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan here.
