Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News

Waipā signs on to work towards Waikato water entity

Waikato Herald
9 Sep, 2024 04:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Waipā Mayor Susan O'Regan.

Waipā Mayor Susan O'Regan.

Waipā District Council is one of seven Waikato local bodies signed up for now to work towards creating a large water entity for the region.

Waikato District Council signed on this morning.

They will enter negotiations and begin work towards forming a new regional organisation to deliver water services - leaving just Matamata-Piako District Council, South Waikato District Council, and Hamilton City to formally decide their next steps.

Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan said the Government had made it crystal clear the status quo – with individual councils managing three waters independently – was no longer viable.

Her council has opted into regional negotiations but was also doing an independent assessment to see if Waipā should continue to stand alone or join with others.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“We can either choose to collaborate with other councils, or we will compete with them for the same resource,” she said.

“That simply doesn’t make sense to me so I think we must seriously look at aggregation and the opportunities that will be offered to our district.”

Matamata-Piako District Council chief executive Don McLeod, who has led a cross-council workstream recommending a regional approach, is confident his council will be on board when they meet on September 25.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But he acknowledged that Hamilton City Council, which will decide on Thursday, will make its own decision and may “leave the tent”.

“Whatever call Hamilton makes to deal with its own, pressing issues we will respect that and get on with building a regional model,” McLeod said.

“We need to put a framework in place quickly to deliver better water infrastructure, faster and most cost-effectively for ratepayers. We simply must be a lot smarter in how we spend money. That’s what this is all about.”

Over the next 10 years, Waikato councils have budgeted nearly $5 billion for drinking water, stormwater and wastewater for capital works.

All up, including operating costs, water services will cost more than $7.5b.

A report commissioned by the Waikato Mayoral Forum said working together could see savings of $338 million over a decade, based on conservative efficiency targets of around 1% per year. Most savings come from combining capital planning works and delivery.

The report also put a spotlight on increasingly unaffordable water charges for households without major change.

McLeod said if Hamilton City Council did not join, there was still enough scale to change the game.

“With a large number of councils looking at potentially joining up, we’re talking about providing water services to a substantial population, more than 320,000, across a big piece of the region. With ongoing goodwill and long-term thinking from the councils involved, we will be able to make huge in-roads in addressing the massive challenges ahead,” he said.

“It will take time, of course, but the current system is fundamentally broken. There is no argument about that. This is a hugely important step towards substantive and I believe, positive change.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Earlier this month, Waikato Regional Council asked to be part of the group and help design a regional model, despite drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater being largely a city or district council responsibility.

Its chairwoman Pamela Storey believed the regional council could make a good contribution.

“For example, we’re able to provide technical leadership around a catchment-based approach to consenting. There is opportunity in shared services, so we have quite a lot of technology that may be useful.”

Council chief executives keen on a regional entity will now negotiate a non-binding heads of agreement to be formally ratified by each participating council. That draft agreement would be back in front of councils by the end of October.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

State of emergency declared for Tasman region, severe weather warnings across NZ

10 Jul 07:04 AM
Waikato Herald

‘Lock all your doors’: Neighbours recount gunman on loose after Hamilton homicide

10 Jul 07:00 AM
Waikato Herald

'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach

10 Jul 05:38 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

State of emergency declared for Tasman region, severe weather warnings across NZ
Waikato Herald

State of emergency declared for Tasman region, severe weather warnings across NZ

10 Jul 07:04 AM

Heavy rain and strong winds are expected in Auckland and Northland.

‘Lock all your doors’: Neighbours recount gunman on loose after Hamilton homicide
Waikato Herald

‘Lock all your doors’: Neighbours recount gunman on loose after Hamilton homicide

10 Jul 07:00 AM
'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach
Waikato Herald

'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach

10 Jul 05:38 AM
Man accused of fatal shooting, stealing car at gunpoint appears in court
Waikato Herald

Man accused of fatal shooting, stealing car at gunpoint appears in court

10 Jul 02:50 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP