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The DIA approved our Water Services Delivery Plan in early November – this plan sets out the commitment of the four Councils to establish the new water company and the high-level information about timing. Councils require this DIA approval to officially begin establishment work, so the approval provides confidence to us that we have a robust plan and that we can move forward to implementation.
That approval gave us the green light to start building the transition team – making sure we have the right people and plans in place to begin the early thinking for the operational transition of each council’s water services over to this new entity, which needs to be operational from 1 July 2027, so 2026 is going to be busy!
The major milestones we have ahead include:
By March 2026:
Recruitment of company directors will be completed by March, and the new Board will be in place.
This Board will be the group that sets the direction of the company and will play a key part in the decision making in the transition period. Once the Board is in place, we will complete legal incorporation of the company, and it will exist as its own legal entity. We will be having early conversations with the Board around Council staff transition and will be able to provide you with more information after that about what this will mean for you.
By June 2026:
We will prepare a statement of expectations from the four councils for discussion with the new Board.
This document is an important one and sets out what the expectations of the Councils as shareholders in the new company are. It will ensure the company is clear on what the Councils priorities are and will be the basis for monitoring the performance of the company going forward.
By September 2026:
By mid to late 2026, we would expect the recruitment of the company CEO to be completed and that person will then move on to recruit and build their leadership team.
Through this period, we will also be preparing the detail of everything that will need to transfer to the new entity - including water assets, debt, resource consents, compliance obligations, existing contracts, and more.