Local Water Done Well

Local Water Done Well is the Government’s plan to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges. It replaces the previous government’s Three Waters reform proposals.

It aims to:

• Tackle New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges by enhancing the quality, sustainability, and affordability of water services nationwide
• Introduce new economic and quality regulations to improve service standards
• Ensure water services are future-proofed and financially sustainable
• Make water services delivery more effective and efficient

Key components of Local Water Done Well include:

• Fit-for-purpose service delivery models and financing tools
• Ensuring water services are financially sustainable
• Introducing greater central government oversight, economic and quality regulation

The water reforms began to ensure everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand has safe, clean drinking water and to improve wastewater and stormwater management.

An outbreak of gastroenteritis in Havelock North in August 2016, when an estimated 5000 people got sick and four people died, was a major trigger for this work.

This event and the resulting reviews exposed serious issues with a lot of New Zealand’s water infrastructure, safety standards, and the need for stricter regulation.

Local Water Done Well introduces changes to how water services are managed in the future. There are new rules for investment, borrowing, and pricing, and new options for delivering water services.

Local Water Done Well requires councils to choose a water services delivery model that will best meet their community's needs, provided it also meets financial sustainability and compliance standards.

It incentivises councils to collaborate, by allowing a jointly owned council-controlled water organisations to borrow more money specifically against three waters assets to invest only in water infrastructure. This allows councils to continue to invest in other key infrastructure areas more easily.

Under Local Water Done Well, all councils must:

• Meet new financial and regulatory requirements, ensuring water services are ring-fenced (i.e. the financial administration of water services must be kept separate from the rest of council)
• Invest in infrastructure to address long-standing issues
• Set fair prices that reflect the cost of delivering water services
• Develop a fit-for-purpose Water Services Delivery Plan by early September 2025 outlining how they will meet these requirements

Plans are a requirement under the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements).

The plans are a ‘one-off’ way for councils to reflect on their current approach to the delivery of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services and demonstrate their commitment to a future model that is financially sustainable and meets quality standards.

Water Services Delivery Plans:

• Must include detailed information about water services operations, assets, revenue, expenditure, pricing, future capital expenditure, and how councils plan to finance and deliver their preferred delivery model
• Are for a minimum 10-year timeframe but can be up to 30 years. The first three years must be detailed
• Must demonstrate how the water services will be financially sustainable by June 2028

The Government can reject plans if they do not meet legislative requirements. If the Government is not satisfied with a council’s water services delivery proposal, it can also direct what councils should do.

Yes, all territorial authorities must prepare a Plan. This includes all district and city councils, and unitary authorities. It excludes regional councils. Councils can develop plans individually or jointly with other councils if they propose to deliver water services through a joint arrangement.

Yes! We consulted on our water service delivery proposals between Friday, 9 May and Friday, 6 June 2025.

You can read more about this consultation and the decisions we made.

Yes, it is, with the Southern Waters entity. Have a look on the Timeline for the latest updates.