Water New Zealand facilitates and is actively involved in a number of fora in the water sector.

Water Services Managers' Group (WSMG)

The Water Services Managers’ Group (WSMG) is made up of Territorial Local Authorities or their agents who are responsible for the management of water supply, trunk sewers, local reticulation, sewage treatment and stormwater assets.

Read more on the WSMG webpage.

Rivers Group

Formed collaboratively by IPENZ and Water New Zealand in June 2009, the Rivers Group helps you make a difference.

If you are passionate about New Zealand rivers and their sustainable use and management, join the Rivers Group. We want you, along with your opinions, intellect and camaraderie, to join the Rivers Group and participate in discussions, collegiality and technical knowledge sharing. If you are involved with rivers, catchment management or river engineering, the Rivers Group provides the opportunity you have been waiting for – to truly integrate all the different areas of river usage and management and to bring practitioners and community interests together.

For membership information and an application form please visit the IPENZ Website.

Turnbull Group

The Turnbull Group, facilitated by Water New Zealand, was set up as an independent, multi-sector body committed to a solutions-based approach to improved water management; taking a leadership role in the development of commonly agreed principles and structures through which competing interests in water resources can be reconciled.

The work that the group has completed in the last year has been focused on the Resource Management Act reforms and looking at how an Environmental Protection Agency can be integrated within a proposed national governance structure for water in New Zealand. This work is presented in the Governance of Water document.

Read the Turnbull Group's proposal on The Governance of Water .

Senior Executive's Forum

The Senior Executives Forum is a group of CEOs and senior executives who meet four times a year to discuss issues of relevance to water utilities. The Forum is facilitated by Water New Zealand and is intended to inform the Water New Zealand Board and executive staff on issues of common interest specific to water utilities.

Land and Water Forum

The Land and Water Forum is a multi-sectoral entity established by Cabinet. Its broad intent was delineated in a Cabinet paper, ‘A Fresh Start for Freshwater’. While the plenary form of the Forum includes over 50 sector groups, a small group of 20 individuals, including iwi representatives, has been charged with addressing three, interconnected areas – governance, water quality and allocation. The small group is assisted by five “active observers” from central and local government. The Forum is chaired by Alastair Bisley and is required to make non-binding recommendations to Cabinet by 31 July 2010. Peter Whitehouse is a member of the small group.

International Water Association (IWA), New Zealand branch

The IWA is a global network of water professionals, spanning the continuum between research and practice, and covering all facets of the water cycle.

See here for the IWA webpage hosted by Water New Zealand.