Councils across the Wellington metropolitan region are advancing plans to transfer billions of dollars’ worth of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater assets to a new corporate entity—temporarily named Metro Water. Once established, Metro Water will take over responsibility for delivering water services across the region.
This is a positive move, but what does it mean for residents and businesses?
The transition is expected to be seamless. The most noticeable change will be a separate bill for water services, rather than having these costs bundled into council rates.
But here’s the catch:
Water charges are forecast to rise significantly over time. This is primarily to provide for a substantial increase in infrastructure investment.
For example, the average annual charge for Hutt City residents is projected to rise from $1680 currently to $5859 by 2034. And that’s in addition to ongoing council rates.
This raises a critical question:
Will council rates drop once Metro Water starts billing us directly? They absolutely must.
Currently, about 40% of Hutt City Council’s rates go to fund water services. I’m committed to demanding a rates reduction of at least 40% from the day Metro Water begins charging residents.
There’s a real risk that councils may use this transition to quietly retain excess revenue. That’s not acceptable to me.
Will other election candidates make the same commitment?
I encourage you to ask them.
