Tararua District Council agrees to progress with the joint Wairarapa Tararua water services model

Tararua District Council has voted to progress work on the joint Wairarapa Tararua water services model, set out under the Government’s Local Water Done Well reform.

This decision means that a joint council-controlled organisation (CCO) for water services will be established with the district councils of Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa.

During the Council vote, seven Councillors supported the motion, with one Councillor  abstaining from voting and one opposing. Despite the outcome, most Councillors acknowledged that there will be challenges ahead.

According to Mayor Tracey: “Regardless of the option chosen, costs will increase—though pursuing the initiative alone would be significantly more expensive.”

Councillor Sutherland echoed this: “We have to be nimble, but we have to appreciate that going alone is a high-cost option.”

Councillor Chase succinctly summarised the dilemma: “We are caught between a rock and a hard place. There are numerous uncertainties, but we must make a decision based on the information available to us.”

Consultations carried out in each district in February- April, showed strong community support in each district for the joint Wairarapa- Tararua model.

Following Council’s deliberations on matters raised by the community during the consultation and hearings, Council agreed to prepare a detailed plan for what to do if any of the Wairarapa councils decided to pull out of the proposed joint water organisation at a later stage. Although this is not expected, Council considered it prudent to be prepared for this possibility.

As a next step, the councils will enter into a Commitment Agreement and start the process of planning how water services will be delivered together. This includes developing a joint Water Services Delivery Plan and negotiating the main ideas, terms, and conditions for setting up a shared organisation with Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils.

A Tararua specific Water Services Delivery Plan will also be developed in parallel with the joint one. The Long-Term Plan plans will be the basis for Tararua’s delivery plan but will need to reflect the new structure of delivery and meet the new economic measures.  Projects will be identified for future delivery, but this will not hold up current planned works to improve the resilience of water supplies.

The Water Services Delivery Plan needs to be submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) by each council by 3 September, demonstrating financial sustainability.