Waimakariri District Council has published information to meet new regulatory requirements under the Water Services Information Disclosure Determination 2026, issued by the Commerce Commission. The council is now classified as a regulated supplier of water services and must disclose detailed information about how it funds, charges for, and delivers water supply and wastewater services across the district.
On 16 June 2026, the council adopted several key documents including a Funding Growth Policy that explains how growth-related costs for water and wastewater infrastructure are funded, and a Statement on Dividends Policy confirming the council does not operate a dividends policy. The council also adopted a comprehensive fees and charges spreadsheet that sets out amounts payable for water services at the single service level, covering eight categories of charges as required by the Commerce Commission determination.
The disclosure requirements are extensive and include details such as the type of charge, whether it applies to residential or non-residential customers, the geographic areas covered, the circumstances under which charges apply, and the amounts including GST. The council has confirmed it does not collect any Infrastructure Funding and Financing levies under the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020.
This transparency initiative reflects the broader local government reform agenda around water services in New Zealand, requiring councils that remain water service providers to meet higher standards of information disclosure. The council has committed to reviewing and updating this information annually as part of its Annual Plan process, with the first review completed on 1 July 2026.
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Source: Waimakariri District Council – News. This summary was published by Input Ltd via amalgamation.nz, New Zealand’s central resource for local government amalgamation news and council merger updates.
