Even free staff wouldn't plug one Waikato water body's funding gap, CEO says

Even if all staff worked for free at Waikato and Hamilton's new water entity IAWAI, the organisation would still be short of cash, the boss says.

That means water charges will go up again for those covered by the waters body, which spans Waikato District and Hamilton City, chief executive Peter Winder said.

"Even if every one of our staff worked for free, we wouldn't cover half the funding gap we face," he said.

He added more than $200 million in maintenance "needs to be funded now" to stave off water service failure in years to come.

The commentary comes as the council-controlled organisation (CCO) prepares its next Water Service Strategy for public consultation. Talking points include how much users pay now versus what it will cost IAWAI to meet government price and quality requirements.

"Despite the price increases in the current year, our budgeted revenue from water and wastewater charges doesn't cover our budgeted costs," Winder said. "Revenues have to rise, but there are choices to be made around how we split those costs and how we time the required increases in charges."

"Our role is to plan, fund and deliver water services more efficiently than councils could on their own. But we know, right across the country, that water services investment in past years has not kept up with what's been needed. It's no different in our region."

IAWAI, which took control of all Hamilton City and Waikato District water operations July 1, was created to streamline the costs associated with aligning to new water legislation.

However, Winder acknowledged it is little comfort for households struggling with the cost of living that their rising water costs are less than what they would have been without IAWAI.

"Groceries, fuel, electricity and insurance have been rising fast. We get that, and we won't charge more than we need to, but the fact is we have no choice – water and wastewater charges will need to increase.

"There's two big issues we need to deal with – the charges to meet the current costs of the service, and the backlog of costs to catch up on. If we don't, we risk compromising the quality of our drinking water and our environment.

"When you combine this with the need to invest for future growth and the rising costs we face, it means charges for services will need to rise next year, and in the years ahead."

Hamilton has four years to move away from using house/property valuations to charge for water, as Winder said residential charges have effectively been subsidised due to businesses paying higher rates than households.

"Across the whole region, growth isn't paying for the costs of the infrastructure it uses," he added.

IAWAI has opened a survey to gain public opinion on the key issues and decisions needed to be made, running from November 10 to 24.

This is not the formal consultation on IAWAI's second Water Services Strategy, Winder said, However, it will "start shaping up the options we have".