Waitī Waters - Wairarapa Tararua

Wairarapa–Tararua’s new regional water services organisation, Waitī Waters, has now been officially launched.

Tararua’s water services are joining with Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils to form a regional water company, owned by the four councils. This means your drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services will be managed together at a regional level, helping to make them safer, more reliable, and more sustainable for the long term. The company will handle day-to-day operations, while the councils continue to oversee performance and make sure your community’s interests are looked after.

Check out more info on the Waitī Waters Website

Local Water Done Well and the Tararua District

Following community consultation, planning, and council approvals throughout 2025, the four councils agreed the joint approach is the best way to deliver safe, reliable, and sustainable drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services for around 25,000 connections across the region.

The new company will be legally established by 1 July 2026 and take over day-to-day water services from 1 July 2027, with the councils as shareholders and local oversight, including representation from iwi, to ensure community interests are protected. Comprehensive planning and financial modelling have been completed to ensure the services remain affordable and sustainable over the long term.

Community Consultation

From 14 March - 22 April 2025, Tararua District Council consulted with the community on options for the future of water services. This included looking at the impacts on water users, the costs of delivering services, and the pros and cons of working together with neighbouring councils.

Two options were presented: continuing with a council-by-council approach, or forming a new regional water company with the Wairarapa councils. Feedback from the consultation showed clear support for the regional model, with 65% of Tararua submitters preferring this option.

This community feedback played an important role in the Council’s decision to join the Wairarapa–Tararua regional water company, helping shape a solution aimed at providing safe, reliable, and sustainable water services for the district into the future.

Visit our consultation page below to read more about what we consulted on and what was decided.

Visit our consultation page

Click here

Check out Waitī Waters milestones coming up here

Our local info - where are we at?

In early 2025, the four councils – Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa and Tararua – asked their communities for feedback on how water services should be delivered in the future.

Two options were consulted on:

setting up a new Wairarapa–Tararua water services organisation, or
continuing with a similar approach to how services are delivered now.

Community feedback clearly supported the Wairarapa–Tararua regional option. Across the four districts, between 60% and 88% of submitters preferred this approach.

Based on this feedback, the four councils agreed to establish a new regional Wairarapa–Tararua water company. This company will be a council-controlled organisation (CCO) owned by the councils.

Tararua District Council's share is $1.25 million of the total $5 million establishment costs of the CCO. This will be capitalised, borrowed, and transferred to the CCO at go-live.

No. Setting up a council-controlled organisation is not a step towards privatisation.

The new water company will be fully owned by the four councils. Current water reform laws also prevent water services from being privatised – water organisations can only be owned by councils or by trustees of a consumer trust.

The Wairarapa–Tararua water organisation will remain in public ownership and accountable to the communities it serves.

Yes, the cost of water services is expected to increase. However, this would have happened regardless of how water services were delivered. Across New Zealand, water infrastructure is becoming more expensive to build, maintain and upgrade, and there has been under-investment over many years.

By working together at a regional level, councils can achieve benefits that wouldn’t be possible on their own. These include stronger buying power, better access to funding, more efficient operations, and shared expertise.

Over time, this approach is expected to provide better value for money and support a more reliable and sustainable water system for our communities, as well as create new regional employment opportunities.

No, pricing will remain separate (ring-fenced) for each district for nine years, then subject to review.

Any change would require unanimous decision by all councils.

Councils have committed to the new WSO to be up and running by 1 July 2027 or earlier if possible. Until that time, its business as usual.

A new board of directors will run the Wairarapa–Tararua water company. The board has been appointed by a group made up of representatives from the four councils and two local iwi (Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu).

The board has hired a CEO to manage the day-to-day operations of the company. The councils will also provide the company with a Statement of Expectations, a formal document that sets out what the councils expect the company to achieve and how it should operate.

The council will no longer manage water services day-to-day as it does now. Instead, each partner council will be involved in overseeing and monitoring the water company’s performance.

The council’s role is changing from directly delivering services and owning water assets, to being a shareholder in a company that operates the services and owns the assets. This means the council still has influence and accountability, just in a different way.

By 30 June 2026, Tararua’s water services are expected to have around $212 million in assets (like pipes, treatment plants, and other infrastructure) and $66 million in debt.

When the new water company (CCO) is set up, all of Tararua’s existing water-related debt will transfer to the company. This debt will stay ring-fenced to Tararua, meaning it only affects Tararua water pricing. The $1.25 million cost to establish the company will also be included in this debt.

Debt transfers will happen gradually as current council loans and obligations mature, keeping the process manageable and linked to the communities that generated the debt.

By working together at a regional level, the new water company is expected to deliver around 12% in savings over 20 years compared with if each council ran its water services on its own.

These savings come from things like shared expertise, more efficient operations, and better buying power.

Tararua has approximately 5,300 water connections.

Yes! Your water will continue to flow from your tap, and wastewater and stormwater will still go where they should.

Keeping water services running smoothly is the top priority during this change. For most people, the only noticeable difference will be that your water bill will come from the new water company instead of the council once the company is up and running.

Simply put, no. The new organisation will be responsible for the water services you receive, so that is who you pay too. The company will provide information closer to July 2027 about how you will be able to pay your bill.

Everyone in Tararua with a water connection will be part of the new water company, so there isn’t an opt-out option. TDC asked the community for feedback before making the decision, and based on what people told us, we agreed this is the best way to keep water services safe, reliable, and sustainable for the whole district.