Waipā receives $6.8M for waters projects
Waipā District Council has received $6.8 million in stimulus funding to deliver water projects in the district.
The significant funding boost is from the Department of Internal Affairs for water supply, wastewater and stormwater projects, following approval of a delivery plan put forward by Council in September.
The plan placed high importance on supporting economic recovery through job creation and maintaining, increasing and accelerating investment in core waters infrastructure renewal and maintenance.
Acting chief executive Ken Morris said the funding enabled Council to move forward on a number of local and regional initiatives without ratepayers footing the bill.
“Agreeing to participate in discussions on Three Waters Reform meant we had access to funding that we otherwise would not which can go towards maintenance and operations for the district immediately.”
Council agreed to participate in the Three Waters Reform in August, with the delivery plan submitted at the end of September.
The Three Waters Reform aims to significantly improve the safety and quality of drinking water services and the environmental performance of drinking water and wastewater systems across New Zealand.
Local government is currently responsible for investing in and delivering their own three waters infrastructure, which make up a large proportion of property rates, Morris said.
“Waipā has invested heavily into our three waters infrastructure over many generations and we need to be at the table to make sure the final outcome takes this into account. We will consider all options put forward to help alleviate the impact on our ratepayers.”
Council staff are now completing a request for information for the DIA which will be used to input into detailed modelling and analysis for the Three Waters Reform Steering Committee.
Participating in the initial stages of the Three Waters Reform is undertaken in good faith, with an option to ‘opt out’ without penalty at the end of the agreement term.
The agreement follows work undertaken over a three-year period between central and local government to address a number of shortages and significant under-investment in the three-waters delivery model. New legislation and the creation of Taumata Arowai, a new water services regulator, has already resulted from this work.
The Three Waters Reform also aims to move waters infrastructure funding to a more financially-stable footing, addressing affordability and capability shortages faced by many smaller councils.
