Local Water Done Well
What is Local Water Done Well?
Local Water Done Well (LWDW) is the coalition Government's approach to improving the management of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater ("three waters") services replacing Labour’s previous Three Waters Reform model.
It is intended to ensure people pay cost-reflective prices for water services, that those services are delivered to an acceptable quality, and that water services providers are investing sufficiently in three-waters infrastructure.
The changes under LWDW will affect how water services are delivered, maintained, and regulated with councils needing to make important decisions about their water infrastructure, service models, and whether to partner with other councils.
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What needs to happen?
LWDW legislation requires councils to develop a Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) by September 2025 that must outline how water services will be managed, meet new regulatory standards, and be financially sustainable.
The WSDP can be developed either alone or jointly with other councils. The WSDP needs to cover a minimum 10 year timeframe (but can be up to 30 years) with detailed information provided on the first three years.
The aim of the WSDP is to serve as the primary planning and decision-making tool around the delivery of water services both now and in the future, while ensuring compliance with future health, environmental, and economic regulations.
A key part of developing a WSDP is that we need to consult on options for a Water Services Delivery Model for providing water services.
Council's participation in WWDW will form one of the options that we consult with the community on next year.
Councils are required to consult on our proposed model or arrangements for delivering water services providing an analysis of at least two options.
Alongside this analysis we must outline the potential impacts of proceeding or not proceeding with the proposal, including impact on rates, debt, levels of service, and any charges for water services.
We must also outline the implications for communities, if the proposal involves establishing, joining, or amending a joint water services CCO or a joint local government arrangement.
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Legislative StagesStage 1 - Repeal of Previous Water Services Legislation - Water Services Acts Repeal Act. Completed February 2024
Stage 2: Establish Framework & Preliminary Arrangements for New Water Entities - Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024. Enacted on 2 September 2024
Stage 3: Establish Enduring Settings - Local Government Water Services Bill - Introduced to Parliament December 2024. Expected to be enacted mid-2025.
What is Waikato Water Done Well?
Waikato Water Done Well (WWDW) is a project that has supported participating Waikato councils to identify collective water services challenges and facilitate in co-designing a region-wide water services delivery model.
Elected Members have agreed to enter into a Heads of Agreement as part of WWDW. The decision commits us to working with other councils in the Waikato to investigate the establishment of a council-controlled organisation (CCO) to deliver water and wastewater services in the future.
Find out more about WWDW below
