Can one size fit all in delivery of water services? A view from rural New Zealand

“Can One Size Fit All?” refers to the proposition put forward in the 2011 publication from Water New Zealand entitled Future Face of Urban Water Services in New Zealand? A Discussion Document that urban water services should be aggregated into “…around two to four businesses in the South Island and four to eight in the North Island.”

Governance and management of water services is a key issue of our time however most of the discussion is focussed on large urban centres. Did you know there are people in New Zealand who cart their water for kilometres? Did you know there are people in New Zealand who still have long-drops as their primary method of sewage disposal? This paper is presented in the context of case studies related to 3 townships in the Wairoa District, which is unique in New Zealand for the predominant Maori population (60% of the 8500 residents).

The small population combined with strong Maori cultural influence is evident in the way the whole community thinks about water. Drawing on the author’s observations over the past decade this paper presents some alternative views on equitable allocation of costs and explores some of the risks and challenges faced by one of New Zealand’s smallest local authorities providing water services to one of the most socio-economically deprived populations in the Country.