Water Services Reform (Three Waters)

Water Services Reforms’ focuses on restructuring and optimising the delivery and management of clean drinking water; wastewater (sewerage) reticulation, treatment and disposal; and stormwater management.

'Reform’ is about making improvements that will benefit the whole country.

The three waters reform is focused on finding a better way to fund and operate our drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services so that everyone in New Zealand has access to safe, reliable and affordable water services. That involves taking-over the responsibility of water services from councils and handing it to specialist entities to deliver and manage. Today, 67 different councils own and operate three water services across New Zealand. However, the Government is proposing to establish four new, publicly-owned, multi-regional entities to take on this role.

On 13 April 2023, Central Government announced its reset plan for its Three Waters Reform programme, now named Water Services Reform. Notable changes have been made on the timeline of the reform and the framework of the programme. Changes include increasing the number of Water Services Entities from one to 10, and a new ‘go-live’ date for these entities that will occur in a staged approach from early 2025 to 1 July 2026, rather than the original start date of 1 July 2024 for all entities. With this reset, Tauranga’s water services will now transition to the newly announced Water Services Entity C (Bay of Plenty), alongside Western Bay District Council, Whakatāne District Council, Rotorua Lakes Council, Kawerau District Council and Ōpōtiki District Council.

You can learn more about the Three Waters Reform reset on the Reform’s webpage, including the news update introducing the changes made to the reform.

Because councils are facing challenges in the provision of quality water services to meet the growing demands of their communities.

In particular:

• funding the necessary infrastructure, such as water and wastewater treatment plants, pipes, etc
• complying with safety standards and environmental expectations
• building resilience to natural hazards and climate change into three waters networks
• supporting growth – more people, means more demands on infrastructure.

The effective delivery of waters services is essential for our communities and includes:

• safe drinking water, safe disposal of wastewater and effective stormwater drainage
• adequate supply of cost-effective waters services for housing, businesses and community services
• well-managed extraction of drinking water, and careful disposal of treated wastewater and stormwater so that our environment is protected.

Evidence shows that significant national investment is needed to continue to offer effective water service delivery. If the model stays as it is (council-ownership and management), service quality will be variable, and services will become unaffordable for many New Zealanders. Reform will enable communities across New Zealand to benefit from scale and operational efficiencies, making it more cost-effective in the long-run.

Tauranga residents will experience no real changes to how water services are provided. Residents will, however, see a change in who manages water services, and customer support and billing.

The reform will, however, mean a significant change for Council, and for the way drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services are delivered to our community in the future.

Tauranga’s water services will transition to Water Services Entity C (Bay of Plenty), alongside Western Bay District Council, Whakatāne District Council, Rotorua Lakes Council, Kawerau District Council and Ōpōtiki District Council.

A key building block of the reform will be a partnership with tangata whenua, in accordance with the principles of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The reform is also aimed at delivering the outcomes of Te Mana o te Wai, a set of principles co-designed with iwi/Māori to lift the water quality of our streams, rivers and lakes.

A partnership brings the opportunity to incorporate the value of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) alongside western systems to facilitate the best outcomes for New Zealand communities. The reform provides an opportunity to start this process side-by-side.

We recognise and support the need for iwi/Māori to work alongside council to ensure that any reform doesn’t adversely impact existing rights and interests. We also see value in the perspective tangata whenua can offer as the reforms unfold

Locally, we have committed to working in partnership with Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana (the representative group for our iwi and hapū in the Tauranga City Council area).

Water is a utility business (like electricity or telecommunications) and, if it were separated from councils, specialist water entities would be able to sustainably borrow more money to invest in services, leaving councils with better balance sheet capacity to meet community needs.

The Government is implementing reform of water services through a suite of legislation. The Department of Internal Affairs provides the below brief overview of the Water Services Reform legislation:

You can also read this on the DIA Water Services Reform Programme webpage. 

The Water Services Entities Act

The Water Services Entities Act establishes the new water services entities so they are ready to provide services from their ‘go live’ dates.

The Water Services Entities Act also incorporates amendments set out in the Water Services Entities Amendment Act and the Water Services Legislation Act, forming a single piece of legislation detailing the new arrangements for the provision of water services in New Zealand.

You can read more about the Act here: The Water Services Entities Act.

The Water Services Entities Amendment Act

The Water Services Entities Amendment Act gives effect to the Government’s refocus of water services reforms announced in April 2023.

The Act amends the Water Services Entities Act 2022 to establish 10 water services entities based on existing regional boundaries, and introduces a staggered timeframe for establishing the entities, with all entities going live between 1 July 2024 and 1 July 2026.

Read more about the Water Services Entities Amendment Act.

Water Services Legislation Act

This Act establishes the detailed powers, functions and duties of the new water services entities which are necessary for them to deliver water services to communities.

Read more about the Water Services Legislation Act.

The Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Act

The Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Act implements Cabinet’s agreement to establish an economic regulation and consumer protection regime as part of water services reform.

You can read more about the Act, economic regulation and consumer protection in three waters service delivery on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s website here: Economic regulation and consumer protection regime for water services.