By way of background explanation, late last year Parliament introduced the Local Water Services Bill — and it is still a Bill, not an Act — which deals with some things Mahuta had planned to do (excluding the centralised ‘co-governance’ aspect) before she and her party were rejected by voters — you can read about the Bill’s intentions on Parliament’s website here. What are the the implications of cost to Ratepayers? According to the KCDC:

Have your say on our future water services

Consultation is open on one the of most important decisions we’ll make in decades – who should manage Kāpiti Coast’s water services in the future. Delivering your drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services is a core Council role. As a district, we’ve invested significantly in our water services and our current arrangements have served us well.

However, the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy requires all councils to consider future options and consult with their community on a minimum of two.

Our preferred option is to keep our water services in-house with a few changes to meet the new requirements, but we must also consider if we’ll benefit from economies of scale by joining forces with other councils. That’s why our second option is a joint council-owned organisation with Horowhenua, Manawatū, and Palmerston North.

Our consultation document and website provide more detail on both options, and we’ll be hosting a webinar and drop-in sessions where you can talk to elected members in person.