Council approves Waitaki District Council rejoining Southern Waters
The Clutha District Council has given its approval for the Waitaki District Council to re-enter the Southern Waters partnership.
At today’s meeting (1 April 2026), the Council also approved the incorporation of Southern Waters Ltd as a water services company in partnership with the Central Otago, Gore and Waitaki district councils.
It was also confirmed that Mayor Jock Martin and Councillor Roger Cotton will represent Clutha on the Southern Waters Ltd Stakeholders’ Representative Group.
Mayor Martin says, “As southern district councils, it makes sense for us all to be in this together to transition to a collaborative way of delivering water services that are safe, reliable, and sustainable for our communities, that meet the new national standards.
“There’s a real opportunity to share expertise and develop longer-term strategies as the different entities invest in better infrastructure,” he says.
In early 2025, Clutha, Central Otago, Gore and Waitaki district councils formed Southern Water Done Well to collaboratively identify and evaluate water services delivery models for their communities under the Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation.
After public consultation, Clutha, Central Otago and Gore district councils agreed a jointly owned Council Controlled Organisation was the best water services delivery model.
Their joint Water Services Delivery Plan was approved by the Government in October 2025.
Waitaki District Council opted to leave the partnership and retain water services delivery in-house.
However, following the rejection of its Water Services Delivery Plan and investigating joint service delivery models, Waitaki resolved to rejoin Southern Waters.
Gore, Central Otago and now Clutha district councils have now all given their approval for Waitaki to rejoin.
The next step to make it official will be for Waitaki, at its meeting on 14 April, to consider establishment documentation, Southern Waters’ Constitution and Shareholders’ Agreement, and updates to the Commitment Agreement.
It will also consider appointing two representatives to the Stakeholders’ Representative Group.
If Waitaki agrees to adopt the documents, it will become the fourth shareholding council in Southern Waters.
Established under the Government’s Local Water Done Well (LWDW) framework, Southern Waters will be required to meet high standards for service delivery, regulatory compliance, and long-term infrastructure sustainability.
For the Clutha District, this will also cover existing rural water schemes.
Southern Waters will take over delivering water services on 1 July 2027.
