City water supplier doing well, says Auditor-General

Aucklanders are receiving good customer service from the region's new water company, Watercare Services, says Auditor-General Lyn Provost.

She is pleased with progress Watercare has made since taking responsibility for services to 425,500 customers throughout Auckland.

Before the Super City, Watercare provided bulk water services to the former councils that acted as retailers to their ratepayers.

"The transition appears to be going relatively smoothly for customers, and Watercare seems committed to improving its service to customers," Ms Provost said in initial observations to a performance audit.

"We were pleased to note that customer services have been improving and that Watercare appeared to address problems quickly and make ongoing improvements when it identified performance issues."

Ms Provost said Watercare was making solid progress in its planning for managing future demand, asset management and funding and pricing.

But she did raise several questions about Watercare's financial reporting.

Suspicion lingers among some about a drop in price to $1.30 a 1000 litres, how it came about before the Super City amalgamation and whether it is sustainable.

Watercare chief executive Mark Ford said he was pleased with the positive comments and was committed to making practical, cost-effective improvements wherever possible.

The Auditor-General planned to report further next year.