What is Local Water Done Well?

Local Water Done Well is central governments direction for water services (drinking water, stormwater and wastewater services).It is aimed at addressing concerns about New Zealand’s water quality and water services’ infrastructure investments. Local Water Done Well replaced the previous government’s Three Waters legislation.

What does this mean for Manawatū District?

One of the legislative requirements for all councils is to develop a one-off Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) which must include a description of the proposed model or arrangements to deliver water services, including whether this will be achieved alone, or by working with other councils.

What this means for our community:

In early 2025, Council will be consulting the Manawatū District community to ensure the final decision for the delivery of water services across the Manawatū district reflects the needs and expectations of the community.

At Council on Thursday 20 December, the following three consultation options were resolved to be used for consultation with option one being Council's preferred option.

Consultation Options

  • Option One

    In-house, stand-alone model (the status quo) for the delivery of water services in the Manawatū District.

  • Option Two

    A multi-council Water Services Council Controlled Organisation jointly between Manawatū District Council and Palmerston North City Council for the delivery of water services in the Manawatū District.

  • Option Three

    A multi-council Water Services Council Controlled Organisation jointly between Manawatū District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Horowhenua District Council and Kapiti Coast District Council for the delivery of water services in the Manawatū district.

Policy Overview

More information will be provided at the time of consultation but to begin to understand some of the key changes and how this impacts Councils across New Zealand, use the drop-down menu below.
  • Council water infrastructure assets will not be transferred to government-mandated entities, but there will be new rules for investment, borrowing and pricing. Councils will have choices about how they design their service delivery to meet these new rules
  • Under legislation, councils will be required to formulate, adopt and submit a plan by 3 September 2025 for how they will deliver water services that meet water quality and infrastructure standards while being financially sustainable in the long-term
  • Plans must include an implementation plan and a commitment to give effect to it
  • There will be a new economic regulation regime inside the Commerce Commission overseeing these rules
  • Government will also introduce new quality standard for wastewater and stormwater, and we expect there to be greater scrutiny of our compliance with the rules we have to meet for taking water and discharging wastewater.

Note: The Government is currently consulting on levies that it will require all Councils to pay (and recover via the ratepayer) to fund the Water Services Authority and the Economic Regulator. You can learn more about it here.

Regardless of the model chosen, all local government water service providers will have to meet clear minimum requirements set out in legislation. This includes meeting regulatory standards, financial sustainability requirements such as ringfencing of water services, and restrictions against privatisation. There will be additional requirements for water organisations to ensure they are operated and governed effectively.

There will be a new approach for managing stormwater. Councils will retain legal responsibility and control of stormwater services but will have flexibility to choose the delivery arrangements that best suit their circumstances.

Changes are proposed to improve the management of overland flow paths and watercourses in urban areas (an urban area's natural drainage system). This includes clarifying council and private landowner roles and responsibilities, enabling new planning and regulatory tools, and enabling ‘service agreements’ to support the integrated management of stormwater networks.