Local Water Done Well is the Government’s plan for how New Zealand’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services are owned, funded and delivered. It replaces the previous Three Waters programme, and it is reshaping the water side of local government at the same time as councils consider amalgamation. This guide explains what it is and why it matters.
The basic idea
Local Water Done Well is the coalition Government’s plan to address long-standing problems with water infrastructure. New Zealand has decades of underinvestment in pipes, treatment plants and reservoirs, and the bill to fix it is large. The policy aims to keep ownership and decision-making local, while requiring councils to show that their water services are financially sustainable and meet quality standards.
In short, it keeps water in local hands but changes the rules about how it must be run and paid for.
How it works
The policy is built around a few core requirements that apply to councils across the country.
Water Services Delivery Plans. Every council, or group of councils, had to prepare a plan setting out how it would deliver water services and submit it to the Department of Internal Affairs. These plans had to show that services would meet regulatory standards and remain financially sustainable.
A choice of delivery models. Councils can keep water services in-house, set up their own water organisation, or join with neighbouring councils to form a shared one. The Government provided options rather than forcing a single national structure.
New funding tools. Dedicated water organisations can borrow against their revenue at higher levels than councils can, through the Local Government Funding Agency. This is intended to unlock the investment that infrastructure needs.
Stronger regulation. The Commerce Commission takes on a role as economic regulator of water services, and Taumata Arowai, the Water Services Authority, oversees quality standards.
The three legislative stages
Local Water Done Well has been delivered through three pieces of legislation. The first repealed the previous Three Waters laws. The second set up the framework and the preliminary arrangements, including the requirement for delivery plans. The third establishes the enduring settings for how the new system operates over the long term.
Why it matters for ratepayers
For many households, the most visible change will be in how water is charged. Where a council moves its water services into a separate organisation, water costs are increasingly billed separately from general rates. The total amount of money leaving the household may be similar, but the way it appears on the bill is changing.
The investment task is also real. The Government has acknowledged that the cost of bringing water infrastructure up to standard is significantly higher than earlier forecasts. Local Water Done Well sets the rules for who pays and how, but it does not remove the underlying bill.
