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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Planning, reporting, and financial management - Planning - Water services strategy

235: Process for making water services strategy: territorial authorities

You could also call this:

"How councils make a plan for water services and consult with their community"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you are a territorial authority that provides water services, you must prepare a draft water services strategy. You also need to prepare a summary of the major matters in the draft strategy. You will then consult your community on this summary using the special consultative procedure under the LGA 2002, which is explained in sections 83, 83AA, and 83A of that Act.

The summary you prepare must identify and explain the important issues and choices you face in providing water services, and the consequences of those choices. It must also include information about the likely consequences of implementing the water services strategy on charges for water services, rates collected under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, your debt, the level of service you provide, and your ability to provide for urban development and housing in your district.

When you use the special consultative procedure, you must replace references to a statement of proposal with your draft water services strategy, and references to a summary of the information with your summary. If you consult on the summary at the same time as consulting on your long-term plan under the LGA 2002, the summary must be a separate part of the consultation material, and the approach to consultation must be consistent with the purpose of the water services strategy in section 232.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004668.

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"What a water services strategy must include"

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Part 4Planning, reporting, and financial management
Planning: Water services strategy

235Process for making water services strategy: territorial authorities

  1. A territorial authority that is a water service provider must,—

  2. in addition to preparing a draft water services strategy under this subpart, prepare a summary of the major matters in the draft water services strategy; and
    1. consult its communities on the summary; and
      1. when consulting under paragraph (b), use the special consultative procedure under the LGA 2002 (see sections 83, 83AA, and 83A of that Act).

        1. The summary under subsection (1)(a) must—

        2. identify and explain the important issues and choices facing the territorial authority in relation to providing water services, and the consequences of those choices; and
          1. include information about the likely consequences of implementing the water services strategy on—
            1. charges for providing water services; and
              1. rates collected under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002; and
                1. the debt of the territorial authority; and
                  1. the level of service provided by the territorial authority; and
                    1. the territorial authority’s ability to provide for urban development and housing in its district.

                    2. When using the special consultative procedure,—

                    3. each reference to a statement of proposal must be read as a reference to a draft water services strategy; and
                      1. each reference to a summary of the information must be read as a reference to a summary under subsection (1)(a).

                        1. If a territorial authority consults on the summary at the same time as consulting on its long-term plan under the LGA 2002, or as part of any other combined or concurrent consultation under section 83A of the LGA 2002,—

                        2. the summary must form a discrete part of the consultation material; and
                          1. the approach to consultation, and any consultation material used, must be consistent with the purpose of the water services strategy in section 232.

                            1. If a territorial authority wishes to include a proposal to change how water services are provided in its district (see section 27) in its water services strategy, and to consult on that proposal as part of consultation on the strategy,—

                            2. section 32 does not apply; and
                              1. the information required to be made publicly available under section 32(1) must be included in a summary prepared under subsection (1)(a).