Palmerston North ratepayers could face $1000 annual bill for new sewage treatment system
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That was a high-end estimate, he said, and one that was included in council consultation for its latest long-term plan.
The cost for the upgrade was not included in the plan, but some preparatory work was.
The previous government's Three Waters and Affordable Water Infrastructure programmes would have taken such costs off councils' books, but that ship had sailed.
Councils such as Palmerston North now have to find their own ways to pay.
"We're looking at the plant build itself through what they call an IFF - it's infrastructure funding and financing," Smith said.
"It's a mechanism that the government set up to fund big projects off balance sheet.
"We're looking at doing that in the same way that Tauranga City Council's done roading projects and transportation projects, and Wellington City Council's looked at its own wastewater and sludge plant at Moa Point."