Dunedin 3 waters - getting together: the righ mix of experts, experience and enthusiasm

Within the last 5 years, the Dunedin City Council (DCC) has made significant changes to the approach in strategic planning and delivery of water, wastewater and stormwater services in the City. A major component of this change was the initiation of a two-phase project for Dunedin’s three waters – referred to as the Three Waters Strategy Project (the Project). The Project sought to determine and quantify current and potential future issues in Dunedin’s water, wastewater and stormwater networks, with knowledge capture being an integral component.

The effective delivery of the Project was dependent on multiple-stakeholders - a team of consultants was engaged by DCC and a Project Control Group (PCG) was established. Not all Project team members were based in Dunedin, so the approach to communication was critical and required sound leadership to effectively coordinate across different cities and with multiple stakeholders.

The right mix of experience, expertise and enthusiasm within the core Project team was integral to the success of the project. This paper presents the path taken to enable the effective planning, development, governance and delivery of the Project (which was completed in 2011) and reflects on some of the lessons learned that have arisen as a result of this experience.