The Secretary for Local Government has signed off on Dunedin City Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP).
The accepted plan sets out how Dunedin’s water services will be sustainably delivered and funded over the next 10 years. It confirms that the Dunedin City Council (DCC) will retain in-house control of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services.
Mayor Sophie Barker is celebrating the significant milestone, saying, “The message from our community has been loud and clear – Dunedin residents want their water services kept local and managed by Council. I’m really pleased our plan has been accepted, which means we can move ahead with a model that puts our people first and reflects what they’ve asked for.”
The WSDP is required as part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well reform, which required all councils to prepare a WSDP and identify a proposed model for the delivery of water services.
DCC Chief Executive Sandy Graham says, “An in-house model will continue to make it easier to co-ordinate water services with other services provided by the DCC, while carefully managing debt levels over the next nine years. The accepted water services delivery plan reflects DCC ownership and responsibility for our water infrastructure, while being directly accountable to the Dunedin community.”
Now that the WSDP has been accepted, a staged implementation plan will be completed to meet financial sustainability requirements by 30 June 2028. Regular reporting to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) on progress on implementing the WSDP will also be required.
The legislative framework for these changes includes the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025, which became law on 26 August 2025. The legislative changes aim to strengthen service delivery and accountability.
Water services providers, such as the DCC, will also be subject to a new economic regulation regime. Starting in the 2026-27 financial year, water services providers will need to publicly disclose detailed financial and asset management information on their websites to provide improved transparency for consumers. The Commerce Commission, as the economic regulator, is currently finalising the information disclosure requirements for water services.
The DCC is actively preparing for these changes while ensuring continued operations and improvements. This reform is important in securing long-term sustainability and transparency for Dunedin’s water services.
Read the full plan: www.dunedin.govt.nz/WSDP