Council to consult its preferred water services delivery model
Clutha District Council will consult with the district next month with its preferred water services delivery model being a joint council-controlled organisation (CCO).
The other two options to be consulted on include a Council in-house business unit and a standalone Clutha District Council CCO.
The decision to proceed with the joint CCO as the preferred option was decided at Council’s meeting on Thursday 3 April.
Under the preferred option, Council is proposing to join with Gore District Council, Central Otago District Council, and Waitaki District Council.
The three Councils will hold their own meetings in the coming days to consider their preferred option as well.
The four councils have signed an agreement to work together to examine options for the delivery of water services in the future that meet their communities' expectations and the Government’s new regulatory requirements as set out in Local Water Done Well (LWDW).
LWDW is designed to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges while maintaining local decision-making flexibility. By September this year, all councils must have identified the best options for delivering water services in the future, talked to their communities about them, and produced a Water Services Delivery Plan.
The plans will show how councils intend to deliver water services that meet regulatory requirements, support growth and urban development, and are financially sustainable.
The consultation document will include a complete analysis of the three options, including the impact on each council’s rates, debt and levels of service and opens on May 9.
In a report published last year Morrison Low found that water services delivery in Otago and Southland would become unaffordable without fundamental change.
The report estimated that the water bill for 76% of residential users in the two regions would double within 10 years. Additionally, workforce shortages and infrastructure demands would require regional coordination to avoid inefficiency and competition.
