Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan was adopted this week and has now been filed with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Every council in the country must have their water services plan approved by DIA as part of Government reforms for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.

Councillors adopted Ashburton’s plan at their meeting this week and it sets out how the district will sustainably deliver and fund safe and reliable water services over the next decade.

Key elements are:

• Council will continue to deliver drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services via an in-house Stand Alone Business Unit
• The proposed investment programme is financially sustainable
• Water services revenue will be clearly separated from other Council funds
• Council has enough headroom to borrow for unexpected events
• The plan will strengthen service delivery and ensure compliance, including asset management and maintenance strategies, financial monitoring, governance improvements and alignment with upcoming legislative requirements

The plan outlines projected increases in water services charges/rates over the next 10 years, from $1441 in 2024/25 to $2948 in 2033/34.

Councillors adopting the plan on Wednesday, noted that the new structure for water services would generate a lot more work in the stormwater, data analysis, information and reporting space, and that this could result in up to four new water services jobs.

Democracy and Engagement Group Manager Toni Durham said Council would now wait for DIA to approve the plan, and then the new Council elected in the coming local elections would decide on the governance structure for the Stand Alone Business Unit.

The water services unit would have its own long term plan that would feed into Council’s long term plan, with the transition and implementation period expected to be about two years.