Yes, in the short term, but not because we are establishing Central Districts Water.
Water costs are increasing across Aotearoa New Zealand for several reasons. Much of our water infrastructure is ageing and needs to be repaired or replaced. Communities are growing, which means expanding networks and increasing treatment capacity. Climate change is also placing pressure on water systems, requiring investment to manage more frequent storms, flooding and droughts. There’s also more regulations and higher environmental standards that come at a cost.
These pressures exist regardless of whether water services are delivered directly by councils or by a separate water organisation.
Central Districts Water is expected to manage these rising costs more efficiently than councils operating separately. A single organisation can achieve economies of scale through stronger purchasing power, shared specialist expertise, coordinated planning, and more efficient delivery of large infrastructure programmes. This reduces duplication and spreads costs across a wider customer base.
While water charges will still increase over time to fund necessary investment, establishing Central Districts Water is about delivering those upgrades in the most efficient and financially sustainable way possible and keeping costs lower than they would be if each council continued to manage water services on its own.
Over time we can expect that water charges will not increase as sharply as they have needed to over the past few years and over the next decade.