With less than 12 months to go un1l the first day of opera1ons, the countdown is on for Waiti Waters, Wairarapa-Tararua’s new water services provider.

Wai; Waters will go live on 1 July 2027. Officially launched and named in April this year, work has been progressing on the transi1on from four separate district council water services providers to a single council-owned organisa1on. Masterton, Tararua, Carterton and South Wairarapa district councils have partnered with Rangitāne and Ngā1 Kahungunu to establish the en1ty which is governed by a Board of Directors. Chaired by experienced governance leader and Wairarapa local Adrienne Young-Cooper, the Board is made up of directors Clive Rundle, Jo Hayes, Maria Robertson and Sir Paul Collins. Recruitment for the chief execu1ve is also underway, with the successful candidate expected to start with the organisa1on by September. Young-Cooper said that while there is s1ll work ahead to ensure a smooth transi1on, strong progress has been made in recent months, and a significant emphasis had been placed on learning more about the current infrastructure across the region. “For the Board, one of our priori1es is to get out and about in the region over the transi1on period to get to know the future staff of Wai; Waters, and to build an understanding of the assets and services that will be transferred to Wai; Waters from July next year,” she said. So far, the Board members have visited Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant (Carterton), Carterton Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mar1nborough Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dannevirke Oringi Tararua Alliance Opera1ons Centre, and the Dannevirke Impounded Water Supply and Water Treatment Plant. A visit to the Homebush wastewater treatment plant in Masterton is planned in coming weeks. “With less than a year to go before water services pass from the four Councils’ control to Wai; Waters, our focus is on building an organisa1on that can do the job – and do it well,” Young-Cooper said. “We are ac1vely building the founda1ons of our organisa1on, with a current focus on ge_ng our leadership in place and suppor1ng the transfer of staff from the four Councils, with employment pathways now confirmed for water services teams.” Work is con1nuing on the Wai; Waters’ financial strategy, including prepara1ons to join the Local Government Funding Agency, and planning for the Water Services Strategy which will set out Wai; Waters’ 10-year delivery plan and will be available for public engagement next