Water New Zealand Update - Improving Water Sector Performance

I would like to take this opportunity to outline the proposed new strategic direction for our organisation and what this means for the membership.

Firstly, it is important to set the context for why a fresh focus is needed.

Water is currently on the government’s radar because the sector doesn’t have an agreed view on its ongoing management. The Government increasingly recognises water’s importance to the economy, with the 2015 National Infrastructure Plan and recent Productivity Commission reports acknowledging that 3 waters management is an important issue to get right. There are reservations within Government about how well water infrastructure assets are being managed with 67 autonomous owners.

Further context is provided by the Ministry for the Environment focusing on improving the water quality from wastewater and storm water discharges through the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management, the Department of Internal Affairs looking to change the law to enable different forms of water governance to be considered by local councils and for consistent reporting on non-financial performance measures, and work by Local Government New Zealand into 3 waters management.

For the past 10 years, Water New Zealand has focused on promoting structural change within local government and the adoption of commercial models to make water delivery more efficient. Without the necessary political appetite to support this commercial approach however, this strategy has not been so successful and has become counter-productive to relationship building within city and district councils.

In short, the 3 waters sector is not shaping its own future - and we’re not helping.

As the national body representing 3 waters managers, we have an essential role to play in determining the future of the sector.

The Board began the process of reviewing our strategy in December 2015. Our starting point was to re-examine who we exist for. As a result, our focus has been clearly on stakeholder relationships. Following subsequent rounds of discussions, we have agreed on a fresh and focused direction.

The Board has agreed that Water New Zealand needs to position itself to be the national spokesperson and standard setter on water issues, ensuring that Councils adopt consistent approaches to water management. We are too small a country to do things 67 different ways.

In essence, a move towards a more co-ordinated and consistent approach to water management.

Our strategic goals are:

  1. To facilitate collaborative learning with a focus on accessing technical expertise
  2. To be the “go to” technical advisor for informed conversations and debates on water, with an emphasis on identifying and promoting sound technological trends and innovation
  3. To advocate for high quality evidence based standards and decisions on water.

What does this mean for the Association?

You can expect to see a closer engagement between the staff at Water New Zealand and the membership, with perhaps a call for some members to be more closely involved in what we do.

There is a role for Water New Zealand to get the sector excited about the critical importance of water, and to facilitate a collaborative environment where we can learn from each other. The various fora we run – such as our conferences, Special Interest Groups, Water Utilities Association, Water Services Managers Group, Service Providers Forum and so on – will be the vehicles for this, as well as our other means of communication with the sector such as the Water journal, newsletter and website, etc.

New technical groups may be formed if required and old ones be disbanded if they are not functioning as desired.

To help achieve this collaborative approach, the Board has agreed to establish a new position of Manager, Water Sector Collaboration within the Association to facilitate discussion among and between our groups to identify which areas offer scope for collective action. (An example of a technical issue where collective uptake by the sector is essential is the proposed metadata standards.) Recruitment for that position is expected to start mid-June. That person will also work with related organisations that operate in local government to ensure we have alignment with their activities.

Armed with those sector insights, we then need to develop good practice technical guidance material to promote to Councils for adoption. Reaching agreement with Councils about the priorities for technical guidance may be both challenging and time consuming – but it’s essential if we are to lift sector performance. The current part-time position of Technical Manager will become a full time role later this year to reflect the increased importance of technical guidance within the Association and industry.

Nick Walmsley, our current part-time Technical Manager, has signaled his desire to retire (again!) later this year. A recruitment process to find a full-time replacement will commence on 28 May.

Promotion of this guidance material as good practice to Councils will be the role of another new full-time position to be established, that of Manager, Sector Development. That role will be to promote the adoption of improved practice by Councils. The extent to which we can get Councils to adopt consistent ways of operating will be a key measure of our future success.

If we are to build our reputation as the “go to” advisor on water related issues, we need to get to a position where we can demonstrate leadership in joining up the sector so that conversations about water occur within a context – not in isolated silos.

We plan to recruit a Communications Advisor into the Wellington-based team to improve the level and quality of both internal and external communication.

Water New Zealand has been around for many years and has engaged with local government in a variety of ways. There will be a conscious move away from focusing on structural changes to local government as a means of improving sector performance. Rather, the emphasis going forward will be on getting Councils to consistently adopt good practice ways of running their water businesses.

The Board feels if we can achieve the objective of providing sound strategic advice which has a technical basis, we will ultimately enable the sector to determine its own future.

The realignment of staff with the new direction will mean that some of the staff who have worked for Water New Zealand over the years will not be part of the new structure. Peter Whitehouse and Hannah Smith have left the Association, and I thank them for their past contributions. They were with the Association for 11 and 7 years respectively and made an important and valuable contribution during their tenure.

Going forward, there is a sense that a different set of skills will be required and the Board and I trust the membership will see the value in the new approach.

This increased capacity in-house, aligned to our strategic business goals, will set us on a future-focused course. We will be the glue between the technical end of the industry and the service providers. We can create a commmunity for water expertise and be the focal point for the sector to come together and talk about water issues. Water New Zealand is the vehicle for these conversations to occur and will ensure a consistent approach across the 3 waters sector.

One other consequence of these changes is the requirement for additional financial resources to fund the expanded operations. Because we intend to have our new strategy and collaborative model bedded in by the annual Conference in October, a review of our membership fee structure will be up for decision at the next AGM in October and is due to come into effect in July 2017.

I will keep you posted regarding these changes in the next newsletter.

Do feel free to call if you’d like to discuss the new directions with me.


Regards,
John Pfahlert Chief Executive

Email ceo@waternz.org.nz
DDI: (04) 495 0896Cell: 021 150 9763

Water New Zealand