Three (Waters) into two won’t go, or will it?

Four new water entities have been proposed for New Zealand, and Marlborough falls into half of them.

Water reforms could see Blenheim and Picton lumped in with the eastern and lower parts of the North Island.

This could see both towns sharing the cost of water upgrades Greater Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

Meanwhile, people in Seddon and Ward, in South Marlborough, could be splitting bills with the rest of the South Island, including Christchurch and Queenstown.

As it stands, the Three Waters shakeup could, in the long-term, leave residents in South Marlborough paying $380 more a year in water bills than those in the upper half of the region.

Cabinet papers showed Marlborough and Tasman could be split between two water entities to align with iwi boundaries.

Like most of the South Island, Seddon and Murchison were part of Ngāi Tahu’s takiwā (territory), so had been added to Entity ‘D’ with other cities in the takiwā, such as Christchurch.

The rest of Marlborough and Tasman had been included in Entity ‘C’, along with Nelson, Wellington, Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

Maps suggested Marlborough and Tasman were the only councils to have their waters assets divided between two entities.

Marlborough District Council chief executive Mark Wheeler says the council want more details on the boundary.

“If we opt into the reform, which we will consult the community on, then our assets will be under the control of a new entity, regardless of whether towns go north or south.

“The figures the Government are putting out say every council will have a lower cost long-term with these new entities, even those [councils] that are doing well, which we think we are.”

The boundary could, however, pose a problem for Seddon residents, who had only recently started receiving clean tap water.

“This issue is if the boundary between the two water entities has been drawn along the Awatere River, like we suspect it has, then Seddon will be in the southern water entity, but its drinking water supply will be with the northern water entity,” Mark says.

Seddon sourced its water from the Black Birch Stream and was cleaned at the town’s multimillion-dollar water treatment plant, put down by the council in October 2019. The stream is north of the Awatere River.

Marlborough Mayor John Leggett says the numbers presented by Government looked appealing in some respects.

“From what we have seen so far there appears to be economies of scale and benefits for ratepayers and residents in the proposals. The numbers presented by the Government look appealing from a cost-to-ratepayer and infrastructure investment point of view.

“But it’s important that our Council thinks hard about what is best for our community for the long term – that is the priority.”

The announcement on Wednesday came hours before the Marlborough District Council adopted its long-term plan, used to benchmark what it would do and spend in the next decade, including on Three Water projects.

“Marlborough has relatively good 3 Waters infrastructure and that reflects the major investments we have made over the last 20 years or so.”

“Our Council’s current planned capital expenditure over the coming decade is primarily into 3 Waters infrastructure. It has been our number one priority for a long time but upgrades and improvements continue to be needed as Marlborough grows and as older pipes and plant come to the end of their useful lives.”

“At present the Government is providing councils with the option to remain in or opt out of the proposed entities.”