Waitomo District Council (WDC) has today formally confirmed it will join other councils within the Waikato region to establish a joint Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) to deliver its water and wastewater services.

The decision - which has been described as the largest decision Council has had to make in decades - means WDC will become a founding shareholder of what will become one of the largest companies in the region - Waikato Waters Ltd (WWL).

The CCO will be created early July 2025, but it will not be responsible for operations or own assets until 1 July 2026.

WDC will be a Stage 1 share­holder from July 2025, with its water and wastewater assets and liabili­ties transferring on 1 July 2026.

WDC will retain the management of stormwater activity and continue to deliver stormwater services going forward.

Waitomo Mayor John Robertson thanked everyone involved for the huge workload that went into this decision, as well as the considered feedback received from the community following public consultation.

“This is one of the biggest decisions local councils have been asked to make for some time, and the amount of work that has gone into it reflects that. It’s an incredible achievement to have undertaken this extra work on top of Council’s business as usual operations.”

John says early on it emerged that there were only two possible options, the preferred being a joint arrangement with other Waikato Councils creating a CCO.

“The two options were extensively modelled and the risks and benefits analysed, and we are confident to have made this unanimous decision in the best interests of our district and communities.

“Going forward, the changes to our water services will also have an impact on Council as an organisation. Over 20% of our operations will be transferred from Council to the new entity and it is important that our Council begins to plan for these changes.”

Local Water Done Well

The significant decision today came as a result of Central Government’s Local Water Done Well reform, which aims to address the challenges faced by many Councils on how to deliver safe, reliable, environmentally resilient, water services in a financially sustainable manner.

A requirement of the legislation is that councils must submit a Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) by 3 September 2025. The WSDP describes the current state of Council’s water assets and services and must describe the future arrangements for the delivery of water services. It must also demonstrate how water services will be financially sustainable by 2028.

Councils were required to undergo a decision-making process on the delivery options for water services, chose a preferred option and then consult with their community prior to making a decision on the delivery model and submitting their WSDP.

Public consultation was undertaken from late March and all of April with 18 submissions received, with 59% supporting the option to form a CCO.

As part of the formal resolution, Council also approved:

·        the Shareholders’ Agreement and Constitution for WWL

·        the Shareholders’ Agreement formalises the establishment of the CCO including:

-      the shareholding % for each joining Council, WDC being 5%

-      provides for the establishment of the Shareholders Representative Forum (SRF) which has authority to make decisions on behalf of shareholding councils in relation to WWL

-      WDC’s Mayor will be the representative on WWL’s SRF with the Deputy Mayor as Council’s alternate on the SRF.

-      Council approves loan funding the transition costs incurred, up to 30 June 2026, for the development of WWL and transfer of activities from WDC to WWL. These costs will be transferred to the CCO after the CCO has the ability to borrow money.

-      Commitment to entering a Transfer Agreement for transfer of assets, liabilities, and responsibility of water services on 1 July 2026.

Today’s decision is in accordance with the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024.