Waikato, Hamilton councils agree to co-design new water organisation

Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council have confirmed today(24 Sept) they will be working together on designing a joint Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) to deliver water services, as part of the new Local Water Done Well reforms.  

Waikato District Council has unanimously agreed to co-designing an asset-owning CCO with Hamilton Council to manage water and wastewater. The co-design would enable consideration of a CCO as one future option as both councils respond to the challenges of growth, maintenance, and the increasing costs of new infrastructure.  

Development of a CCO would eventually see waters costs charged separately, while spreading costs of major infrastructure investment across the future generations that will benefit. The decisions mean options for a new, council-owned water services company will be developed over the next six months ahead of full public consultation early next year.  

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said today’s decision is welcome and means elected members from both councils have now each unanimously agreed on the way forward for their respective organisations. 

“Hamilton and Waikato’s decisions provide confidence that we can look at the benefits of scale for the future of our water services. Working together lets us address priority issues for both councils in a timely way and means we can prepare plans to consult with our community,” Mayor Southgate said.  

Waikato District Council Mayor Jacqui Church while confirming it will be working with Hamilton on designing a joint CCO, emphasized on ensuring the best outcome for residents.

“This is a very important piece of work for Council, our priority is to ensure the best outcome we can for our residents and ratepayers, and that means we must do our due diligence carefully”, Waikato Mayor, Church said.  

“As mayor, I am committed to fostering a spirit of collaboration and strong leadership to drive positive progress and truly ‘get stuff done’. 

The decisions by both councils also provide for a potential interim step of Hamilton providing water services to Waikato by separate agreement, ensuring continuity of service at the conclusion of Waikato’s existing contract with Watercare on 30 June 2026.