Options investigated

This proposal is about deciding on the best option for delivering water services in a way that will meet the needs of the community and the Government’s new financial sustainability and water regulatory requirements

Under Local Water Done well, there were several options we could investigate. These included keeping delivery in-house; establishing a consumer trust; or setting up a single (SDC only) or jointly (SDC, STDC and NPDC) owned council-controlled organisation.

Not all options were suitable for Stratford, such as establishing a consumer trust or setting up a council-controlled organisation on our own - so these options were ruled out. This left us with two, financially sustainable options to further investigate; establishing a Taranaki water services council-controlled organisation (WSCCO) with New Plymouth and South Taranaki district councils or keeping water services delivered in-house within Stratford District Council.

As part of this process the three Taranaki councils worked together to identify objectives for water services delivery that would meet our communities’ needs, and which model would be best suited to deliver those while also meeting Government requirements.

These community objectives are:

• Sustainably funded – having enough income to meet standards while remaining affordable
• Operationally efficient – keeping costs down
• Attractive for investment and growth - to keep the community and business strong
• Supportive of Te Mana o te Wai – taking care of water in the environment
• Well maintained and compliant with regulations
• Supported by a capable and resilient workforce
• Understanding of local needs and responding quickly

The Government also made it clear that it was expecting councils to work together to see if regional models would be suitable. With new legislation in place, each council chose which options were best to investigate for their district.