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Local Water Done Well

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Young boy drinking water by the kitchen sink while his mother watches over him.

Who should manage Kāpiti Coast water services in the future?

Delivering water services has always been a core Council responsibility. Collectively known as "three waters", water supply, wastewater collection, treatment and discharge, and stormwater management are crucial to well-functioning and healthy communities.

The Government's new 'Local Water Done Well' policy and associated legislation requires all councils to consider how they will manage and deliver these services in the future. This is to ensure your drinking water remains safe to use, sources of drinking water are adequately protected, and your three waters are managed in financially sustainable ways.

One of our district's biggest decisions in decades

In Kāpiti, we're proud of our water services track record – we have safe, clean water, good infrastructure, well-run operations and great staff. While our current arrangements have served us well, we must think about what would be best for Kāpiti long-term, and if we'll benefit from economies of scale if we join forces with other councils.

We're required by Government to consult with our community on at least two options and submit a water services delivery plan by 3 September. Joining a wider Wellington region water services organisation has been discounted as the modelled costs to our ratepayers were more than double those of other options. Instead, we've been working with the Horowhenua, Manawatū and Palmerston North councils to see if joining with them would provide sufficient economies of scale and other efficiencies that would offer long-term benefits for our community. It’s important to note there’ll be increased costs regardless of what model we choose due to Government’s additional regulatory requirements and proposed levies.

What are our options?

We're inviting your feedback on two options for managing and making decisions on how our water services are delivered in future.

Map showing Kāpiti Coast District with Option 1 'The One' and 'our preferred option' in a speech bubble.

Option 1 – ‘The One’

Keeping our water services delivery in-house as we do now, but with additional effort and resourcing required to ensure we meet regulatory requirements. This is our preferred option.

Current number of connections: 24,663
Current population: 58,750

Modelled average cost to customers for all three water services:

  • 2025 $1,645 per annum
  • 2034 *$2,023 per annum
  • 2054 *$2,749 per annum

* including inflation


Map showing Kāpiti Coast, Palmerston North, Horowhenua and Manawatū for Option 2 'The Four'.


Option 2 – ‘The Four’

A four council-owned water services organisation with Horowhenua, Palmerston North, and Manawatū. This option would require us to transfer our water assets to the new organisation of which Council would be a shareholder. .

Current number of connections: 71,212
Current population: 223,750

Modelled average cost to customers for all three water services:

  • 2025 not applicable
  • 2034 *$2,656 per annum
  • 2054 *$2,594 per annum

* including inflation

How you can have your say

Read our consultation documentRead our consultation document to understand the options and their advantages and disadvantages, as well as what future water charges could cost customers. You can let us know who you think should manage and make decisions about your water services by:

Consultation closes at midnight Sunday 13 April 2025.


Join our webinar on Monday 24 March

Join Mayor Janet Holborow and our water experts for a Zoom webinar at 5.30pm on Monday 24 March to hear more about this consultation and the chance to ask questions. Register for the webinar.

Please submit your questions ahead of our webinar for us to consider. You'll also be able to ask questions live using the Q&A feature, but with limited time, we may not be able to answer all of them.

This webinar will be recorded and uploaded to this page within 24–48 hours for those who are unable to attend.



What happens next?

You can elect to speak to your submission at hearings scheduled for Thursday 1 May by checking the box in the submission form. All submissions will be taken into consideration when Council makes a final decision on future water services delivery on Thursday 22 May.

In June, Council will adopt a water services delivery plan outlining how the new entity will be governed and operate. This must be delivered to the Government by Wednesday 3 September 2025.

Once the Government approves the plan, implementation of the new water services organisation will be well under way. Government has given a deadline of July 2028 for all new arrangements to be in place.

Keen to stay updated?

Register to join the conversation, and sign up for Everything Kāpiti, to get the latest on what's happening across our district straight to your inbox – including events, grant funding opportunities for youth, and other ways you can get involved.

Young boy drinking water by the kitchen sink while his mother watches over him.

Who should manage Kāpiti Coast water services in the future?

Delivering water services has always been a core Council responsibility. Collectively known as "three waters", water supply, wastewater collection, treatment and discharge, and stormwater management are crucial to well-functioning and healthy communities.

The Government's new 'Local Water Done Well' policy and associated legislation requires all councils to consider how they will manage and deliver these services in the future. This is to ensure your drinking water remains safe to use, sources of drinking water are adequately protected, and your three waters are managed in financially sustainable ways.

One of our district's biggest decisions in decades

In Kāpiti, we're proud of our water services track record – we have safe, clean water, good infrastructure, well-run operations and great staff. While our current arrangements have served us well, we must think about what would be best for Kāpiti long-term, and if we'll benefit from economies of scale if we join forces with other councils.

We're required by Government to consult with our community on at least two options and submit a water services delivery plan by 3 September. Joining a wider Wellington region water services organisation has been discounted as the modelled costs to our ratepayers were more than double those of other options. Instead, we've been working with the Horowhenua, Manawatū and Palmerston North councils to see if joining with them would provide sufficient economies of scale and other efficiencies that would offer long-term benefits for our community. It’s important to note there’ll be increased costs regardless of what model we choose due to Government’s additional regulatory requirements and proposed levies.

What are our options?

We're inviting your feedback on two options for managing and making decisions on how our water services are delivered in future.

Map showing Kāpiti Coast District with Option 1 'The One' and 'our preferred option' in a speech bubble.

Option 1 – ‘The One’

Keeping our water services delivery in-house as we do now, but with additional effort and resourcing required to ensure we meet regulatory requirements. This is our preferred option.

Current number of connections: 24,663
Current population: 58,750

Modelled average cost to customers for all three water services:

  • 2025 $1,645 per annum
  • 2034 *$2,023 per annum
  • 2054 *$2,749 per annum

* including inflation


Map showing Kāpiti Coast, Palmerston North, Horowhenua and Manawatū for Option 2 'The Four'.


Option 2 – ‘The Four’

A four council-owned water services organisation with Horowhenua, Palmerston North, and Manawatū. This option would require us to transfer our water assets to the new organisation of which Council would be a shareholder. .

Current number of connections: 71,212
Current population: 223,750

Modelled average cost to customers for all three water services:

  • 2025 not applicable
  • 2034 *$2,656 per annum
  • 2054 *$2,594 per annum

* including inflation

How you can have your say

Read our consultation documentRead our consultation document to understand the options and their advantages and disadvantages, as well as what future water charges could cost customers. You can let us know who you think should manage and make decisions about your water services by:

Consultation closes at midnight Sunday 13 April 2025.


Join our webinar on Monday 24 March

Join Mayor Janet Holborow and our water experts for a Zoom webinar at 5.30pm on Monday 24 March to hear more about this consultation and the chance to ask questions. Register for the webinar.

Please submit your questions ahead of our webinar for us to consider. You'll also be able to ask questions live using the Q&A feature, but with limited time, we may not be able to answer all of them.

This webinar will be recorded and uploaded to this page within 24–48 hours for those who are unable to attend.



What happens next?

You can elect to speak to your submission at hearings scheduled for Thursday 1 May by checking the box in the submission form. All submissions will be taken into consideration when Council makes a final decision on future water services delivery on Thursday 22 May.

In June, Council will adopt a water services delivery plan outlining how the new entity will be governed and operate. This must be delivered to the Government by Wednesday 3 September 2025.

Once the Government approves the plan, implementation of the new water services organisation will be well under way. Government has given a deadline of July 2028 for all new arrangements to be in place.

Keen to stay updated?

Register to join the conversation, and sign up for Everything Kāpiti, to get the latest on what's happening across our district straight to your inbox – including events, grant funding opportunities for youth, and other ways you can get involved.

Page last updated: 13 Mar 2025, 12:02 PM