Kāpiti Coast District Council has agreed to collaborate with other councils in the Wellington region to explore options for a joint water services delivery plan.

Mayor Janet Holborow says working together to explore opportunities to secure a sustainable future for the delivery of three waters services across the Wellington region is a no brainer given the number of people that travel in and out of our district each day.

“We’re already working with councils across the Wellington region to plan for growth and having reliable three waters infrastructure is very much a part of this conversation,” the Mayor said.

“At this stage, we are only committing to working with our colleagues across the region via a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to look at opportunities to address the effects of ageing infrastructure and the need for ongoing investment in our drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater networks.

“The MoU will create a non-binding partnership between councils to work together.”

Under the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy, which is still under development, it is anticipated that councils will be required to come up with a water service delivery plan that meets regulatory and investment requirements.

“While the Kāpiti Coast’s three waters infrastructure is in relatively good shape, all councils are facing cost pressures so it makes sense for us to put our heads together to see if we can come up with a water service delivery plan that will benefit our respective communities equally.”

Under the MoU, one elected member from each council will sit on an Advisory Oversight Group (AOG) for the joint water service delivery plan process, alongside iwi/Māori partner representatives.

The AOG would be chaired by an independent expert and supported by Chief Executives and a joint project team. It would not be a formal joint committee or have any decision-making rights.

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