Ashburton Community Wades Into Water Reforms

Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 6:12 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

Mid-way through consultation on the future of Ashburton's water services, mayor Neil Brown is encouraged by the community getting involved in the conversation.

It is - after all - one of "the biggest decisions council will make in many, many years", so it is important to hear from the community, Brown said.

"The public needs to tell us if we are heading in the right direction.

"They will tell us if we are not, but also need to tell us if we are.

"To do the submission is simple. You don't have to say much, it's tick box exercise and gives us an indication of what people are supporting."

The consultation is part of the government's Local Water Done Well reforms, which require councils to submit a plan on the future of their water delivery by September.

Ashburton District Council had received 79 submissions as of Monday.

As part of the consultation, public meetings were held in Methven and Ashburton last week.

At the Ashburton session, Brown outlined the proposal for the stand-alone business unit before taking a wide range of questions, the first being around ownership.

"No one owns the water.

"The infrastructure is owned by the Ashburton District Council."

That does not change under the stand-alone business model, he said.

The council provides drinking water to 70 percent of the district, the other 30 percent are private drinking supplies which are not under the regulations he said

"If you don't receive the service, you don't pay for it."

There were several questions about water meters and introducing volumetric charging - where the user pays for how much water they use rather than a set rate, to fund the service.

Brown said it is not a part of the legislation, but could be.

The council introduced water meters in Methven for leak detection and they have been effective at finding them, he said.

"That's all we have been using water meters for.

"If in the future, the drinking water regulator or commerce commission says you need to charge by a volumetric method, and they haven't said that yet, we would have to meter the [rest] of the supply."

New builds are having water meters installed and all businesses have a meter and pay a volumetric charge, he said.

Adding fluoride to drinking water was also raised.

Brown said the council has no plans to change the status quo, where Methven is the only supply with fluoride, and any decision around fluoride was now up to the Ministry of Health.

The district infrastructure is in good shape because the council "spent a lot of money over the years on infrastructure", he said.

He estimated $60m of council debt was for water services.

Under the reforms, the council needs to change how water services are managed and delivered in the future, but whichever model is chosen will cost more, he said.

"We don't set the regulations, and we must adhere to them.

"Things need replacing and renewing, which all cost more, they never get cheaper."

The consultation closes on 27 April with hearings, if required, on 12-16 May.

The deliberations and decision will be made on 21 May.

Then, with a preferred delivery model locked in, the council will prepare its water services delivery plan to submit to the government by 3 September.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

© Scoop Media

Local Democracy Reporting

Content from the Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) service is published by Scoop as a registered New Zealand Media Outlet LDR Partner.