Navigating the Comlpexities of Three Waters Management: Insights from Wellington Water's Framework

U Dele (Wellington Water Ltd.) and J Hancock (Holmes NZ LP)

Wellington Water manages three waters services on behalf of six client councils. While water supply and wastewater services have been well-defined, stormwater management involves multiple parties with overlapping roles and responsibilities, often with conflicting priorities. In addition, managing stormwater services involves dealing with the inherent complexity of stormwater systems themselves. 

To address these challenges and prepare for the transition of these stormwater services to a new entity, Wellington Water developed a Stormwater Management Framework. This paper discusses the framework and provides insights into the Wellington Water model for stormwater and flood risk management for local council owners and how these can inform the transformation of our industry.

The paper starts with an overview of the process Wellington Water undertook to develop the Stormwater Management Framework, highlights lessons learned and then how they can be applicable to water reform. The paper touches on the future of stormwater and flood risk management and the three waters industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Through the development of the framework, it became clear that there were variations between each council’s approach to stormwater management. This highlighted the complexity of stormwater management across multiple councils and the need for clarity in roles and responsibilities. It also reinforced the need for a governance model with a community-based and location-specific approach.

The recent changes and ongoing uncertainty over the water reform programme do not change two fundamental factors: reform as currently proposed will require local councils to come together to deliver water services and whatever happens in relation to stormwater, the entity will not be responsible for all aspects of stormwater management and therefore a line will have to be drawn somewhere. The key takeaways from Wellington Water’s development of the Stormwater Management Framework document are the complex roles and responsibilities for stormwater management and how that emphasises the need for courageous conversations with councils and the community as we transition to a new governance model for the three water services.

The paper highlights the complexities and opportunities from the Wellington Water model and emphasises the importance of collaboration with councils, iwi, and the community to ensure effective and sustainable three water services for all.