Have your say on the future of Palmerston North’s water services
Published on 27 February 2025
Palmerston North residents are now being encouraged to provide feedback on one of our biggest decisions in decades – the future of their water services.
The Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation requires all councils to develop a Water Services Delivery Plan by September.
The legislation includes strict changes to how Water Services are managed in the future, including that Water Services are entirely user pays. It does however incentivise councils to collaborate, by allowing a jointly owned council-controlled water organisation to borrow more money specifically against Waters assets to invest only in water infrastructure. This allows councils to continue to invest in other key infrastructure areas more easily.
The reforms are being driven to ensure Water Services are effectively managed into the future and can sustain rising costs.
Water costs are increasing for all councils due to population and industrial growth, increasing infrastructure costs, changing requirements for water and wastewater standards, additional compliance and regulation, aging infrastructure and mitigation for climate change. Together, these create enormous costs for councils and communities in the future.
We’ve worked hard to look after our community
Mayor Grant Smith says water reforms are driven by increasing costs to communities.
“I want to assure our Palmerston North community that successive councils have invested well in our Water Services and infrastructure and our assets meet all compliance standards. The reality is the cost of delivering Water Services now under the current model for councils is simply not affordable anymore for our communities.”
He says council has had the best interests of our community at heart over the last few years of proposed reforms.
“Elected members and staff have worked hard to understand the Government reforms, considering asset needs, proposed work, organisational structures, staff impacts, iwi involvement, legal aspects, and financial implications to develop three options for community consultation. The decision we make now will shape the future of Palmerston North’s water for generations to come, so it’s important everyone has their say. How our Water Services are managed affects everyone, whether its drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater. We need to ensure our Water Services remain financially sustainable, still in local ownership and well-managed – and that starts with hearing from you.”
We have two viable options for our community to consider
While we have three options in our consultation, one does not meet legal requirements - but we’re required to consult on it.
- Preferred - Option 1: A water organisation jointly owned by Palmerston North, Horowhenua, Manawatū, and Kāpiti Coast District Councils. This option has the lowest costs for our community and has the scale needed to deliver excellent Water Services to our communities. Being closely located means our community will get good services day-to-day but also in emergencies and civil defence responses. Our communities know each other well, as do most of the councils within this option. In ten years, this option would see residential ratepayers paying $2100 per year for water services.
- Option 2: A water organisation owned by Palmerston North and one or more councils within the Horizons Regional Council boundary. This option could see us working with others in the Horizons boundary. This isn’t our preferred option as councils involved all have alternate preferred options. However, our councils know each other well and are open to collaborating on water services. It would take 4-5 councils to collaborate to make it as affordable as Option 1 as there are a number of smaller councils over large geographical areas. Depending on the combination of councils, this option would see residential ratepayers paying up to $2700 per year for water services.
- Option 3: Palmerston North City Council continues managing and delivering water services on its own. This option is not viable as it is not affordable for our community or council, and therefore doesn’t meet legal requirements. Our community would face far higher water bills on top of rates and would receive far fewer services and a significant drop in investment in all infrastructure areas in our city. In ten years, residential ratepayers would need to pay $3800 for water services alone.
If a water organisation is established, the community continues to own water assets and councils have oversight of the organisation and sets their expectations for the services. Current fixed charges for wastewater and drinking water would no longer be collected by council but would be charged by the water organisation. It would work like a phone or power company, where residents would receive separate bills or accounts. The legislation says Councils are still responsible for stormwater but can choose to contract the day to day work or management to a water organisation.
We have a lot more information about the options for you to consider
Mayor Grant Smith says its important people read more about the options.
“This is a very complex topic, but we’ve attempted to make it as easy as possible in our consultation material to understand more about each option including the potential costs and the pros and cons with each option. We also talk more about the Government requirements, and how a water organisation could operate in the future. You will receive a booklet in your letterbox next week – please read it. Our full consultation material is online at pncc.govt.nz/localwater or copies are available at our Customer Service Centre or libraries. We are here and ready to answer all questions.”
We’ve got lots of opportunities to answer your questions!
Attend a drop-in session near you:
- Roslyn Library: March 12, 1:30-2:30pm
- Awapuni Library: March 13, 10-11am
- Ashhurst Library: March 20, 5-6pm
- Central Library: March 22, 2-3pm
- Te Pātikitiki: March 25, 10-11am
- Bring the kids, make a splash and talk to our team at our Memorial Park Pool Party from 5pm-7pm on Friday 14 March. You can also catch us at one of several council or regional events over the coming weeks, such as Esplanade Day, NZ Rural Games or Central Districts Field Days.
Make a submission by visiting our website, sending a letter, dropping a hardcopy submission at our Customer Service Centre or any library. You could even get creative and submit a video, poem, or song.
Submissions close at 4pm on Sunday March 30.
We’ll be keeping you updated
Mayor Grant Smith says the timelines are tight, but we’re committed to keeping our community informed and involved.
“We are working to tight timeframes that the Government has set. We don’t think there is enough time for the significance of the decision we’re making. But, we’re committed to doing right by our community and ensuring you have as much information as you can to make a submission. We will also be keeping you updated over the coming months of the key decisions made and next steps.”
Your feedback will help shape our plan
People who want to speak to their submission will be able to do so in April. Council will then make a decision in May. The Council will then adopt its new Water Services Delivery Plan, which includes your feedback, and submit it to the Government by early-September.