NEWSLETTER
June 2026
Welcome to our June Waitī Waters newsletter
Our monthly newsletter keeps you – Council staff, partners, suppliers and contractors, future Waitī Waters customers, and communities across the region – updated on our work to bring Waitī Waters to life by 1 July 2027.
Waitī Waters is being established to deliver safe, reliable and financially sustainable water services for current and future generations in the Wairarapa and Tararua region. We are well underway delivering this major change and look forward to keeping you up to date with progress each month as we count down to our official start date of 1 July next year.
It would be fair to say that the foot has not been removed from the pedal over the last month, with significant work and progress to get our region’s new water entity ready for go live.
We are close now to having a year to go before water services pass from the four Councils’ control (Masterton, Tararua, Carterton and South Wairarapa) to Waitī Waters – and our focus is squarely on building an organisation that can do the job delivering water services for the region – and do it well.
In the last month, we’ve made significant progress working with Councils and iwi partners on the Statement of Expectations, which sets out the priorities for Waitī Waters for the next 10 years; have finalised our approach to Council staff transition to provide certainty for staff about their pathway to employment with Waitī Waters; have advanced our Chief Executive recruitment, organisational design and our new head office location; and have got underway on our digital transition. As we prepare to pass the “one year to go” mark, we are also doing a lot of planning for how we will engage with our communities to ensure they are well prepared for the change and what it will mean for them.
Message from the Chair
It was a real privilege for our Board to meet with our Stakeholders’ Forum in Pahiatua this month. The focus of this joint session was to discuss the draft Statement of Expectations and to hear directly the perspectives our of Council and iwi partners, including the views of communities across the region, all of which are reflected in the statement.
We discussed a number of important issues including the need to take a long-term/intergenerational view on water infrastructure planning that considers the needs of current and future customers, communities and the environment; the need to balance affordability and making the investments the region needs; and the importance of clear communications for the community as we continue to progress through the transition period and prepare for Waitī Waters to become operational in July next year. All these priorities (and others) are reflected in the draft State ment of Expectations which Councils are due to consider in meetings in July/August this year.
Over the last month, we have been looking at options for the Waitī Waters head office – we have a preferred location and have started discussions with the landlord about leasing arrangements. We’re looking forward to sharing more on this soon. We’ll also have a presence at the Oringi Business Park in Tararua — affirming our commitment to operating across the whole region.
I want to acknowledge the Council staff who are working hard supporting the establishment work and the staff who took time to provide us with feedback on our proposed Staff Transition Guidelines in our recent consultation process. The Staff Transition Guidelines provide clear pathways for staff in water-related roles to transition into employment with Waitī Waters, and we really appreciate the input from staff to get these right. Thank you for your continued support, mahi and knowledge.
— Adrienne, Board Chair, Waitī Waters
Our People
Meet our Programme Director,
Katherine Meerman
Katherine was appointed the Programme Director for Waitī Waters in May 2025, initially leading the Councils through the preparation of their Water Service Delivery Plans and, following the approval of those by DIA, leading the work to establish Waitī Waters and transition across Council water services. Katherine is proud to be working alongside an exceptional programme team, Councils and iwi partners, and the Waitī Waters Board to ensure Waitī Waters is set up for success and is an organisation that delivers value for the region’s communities from day one and into the future.
Prior to this role, Katherine worked for Wellington City Council leading similar establishment and strategic change projects, including the establishment of Wellington’s 2,000 property community housing provider and its disaster resilience investment fund. Pre-local Government, Katherine has held a range of central Government policy and leadership roles in economic and regulatory policy areas working for the New Zealand Treasury, Inland Revenue, ACC and the Ministry for the Environment.
Getting out and about
One of the Board’s priorities is to get out and about in the region over the transition period to get to know the future staff of Waitī Waters and build understanding of the assets and services that will transfer to Waitī Waters from July 2027. To date, Board members have visited Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant (Carterton), Carterton Wastewater Treatment Plant, Martinborough Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dannevirke Oringi Tararua Alliance Operations Centre, and the Dannevirke Impounded Water Supply and Water Treatment Plant. In July they’ll visit the Martinborough water treatment plant and in August, the Homebush wastewater treatment plant in Masterton.
The Board and transition team are also committed to being well connected into the national water sector, and to the group of water organisations that are being established across the country. It is exciting to be part of a wider group delivering this critical change in communities across New Zealand. The Chair has joined the new Water NZ Chairs Forum, and the Programme Director is a member of the Water NZ CEOs Forum (the incoming CEO will join this Forum when appointed), and the programme team members are regularly connecting to peers working in other regions. These Forums provide opportunities to accelerate successful transitions through sharing information, lessons and work-in-progress, and provide the basis for effective sector representation and advocacy in the future.
What's next | July 2026
July 2026
6 July: Monthly Board meeting — Martinborough
CEO recruitment is expected to be completed
Development of the Transfer Agreements (which are the agreements that transfer all the Councils’ contracts, resource consents, water assets and debt etc) will get underway.
August 2026
3 August: Monthly Board meeting — Masterton
The Statement of Expectations is adopted by Councils which confirms what the Council shareholders and iwi partners expect to see Waitī Waters prioritise and deliver over the next ten years. You can read more about the Statement of Expectations here: Key Documents | Waiti Waters
The development of the Water Services Strategy by Waitī Waters will get underway once the Statement of Expectations is completed.
September 2026
Expected start date for our new CEO
Expected completion of proposed regional capital investment programme, for inclusion in the Water Services Strategy.
Expected timeframe for completion of LGFA accession, which will include completion of the financial strategy, and approach to tariff/pricing structures and transition pathways.
Expected timeframe to make employment offers to transferring Council staff on the Direct Offer pathway.
Later in 2026
6 July: Monthly Board meeting — Martinborough
CEO recruitment is expected to be completed
Development of the Transfer Agreements (which are the agreements that transfer all the Councils’ contracts, resource consents, water assets and debt etc) will get underway.
FAQ's
From 1 July 2027, who will make decisions about
water services?
When Waitī Waters is operational (from 1 July 2027), the Board and management of the company will have responsibility for the provision of water infrastructure and delivery of services in the region and will make all operational decisions.
Waitī Water’s strategy and investment plans will be set out in its Water Services Strategy which will be a publicly available document. The Strategy will need to be consistent with the priorities set by Councils and iwi in the Statement of Expectations.
From 1 July 2027, will I still pay my water bill to Council?
For the next year, everything stays exactly the same. Then, from 1 July 2027, Waitī Waters will send you your water bill and you will no longer pay for water services in your Council rates bill. We will provide you with more information closer to July 2027 about how you will be able to pay your bill. Until then, the four Councils continue to be responsible for water services delivery, and you pay your water bill through your rates.