Council has separate 30-year plans for managing the city’s water supply (drinking water), wastewater, and stormwater.
These waters’ plans clearly identify the aspirations, opportunities and challenges that guide Council’s waters projects and programmes. Each plan is supported by a 10-year asset management plan and 30-year investment plan.
These 30-year plans were updated to inform development of the 2024-2034 Long-term Plan. The plans reflect the adopted 2024-2034 Long-term Plan funding and timing as at June 2024.
Because of the national changes underway in the water services sector, these 30-year plans have not been formally adopted by Council, but remain as Executive-approved Drafts to enable the organisation to continue to effectively plan and deliver appropriate water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and services for our communities.
The waters’ plans are part of Council’s strategic framework, called Our Direction. You can see where they fit within Our Direction.
Our Direction
The Government’s Water Services Reform (Local Water Done Well)
The new Government elected in October 2023 signalled that the Regional Water Services Entities’ model would not proceed, and that an alternative approach would be taken to ensure sustainable delivery of water services for New Zealand communities.
Our waters’ 30-year plans and asset management plans will be relevant for whichever organisation manages waters services going forward. One of the most important elements of three waters management for Tauranga is affordability, which will be a major constraint regardless of the organisation(s) tasked with delivering waters services in the future.
You can see more information about the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy, which will see water services remain under local government’s control.
Local water done well
Our big challenges and opportunities
There are five overarching considerations (challenges and opportunities) that apply to all three 30-year waters plans. These are:
- Climate change – expected to bring further significant change in our weather patterns, sea level rise, and warmer temperatures.
- Natural hazards – potential for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami etc, due to our geographic location.
- Finding the right balance for Tauranga – between current and future community welfare, economic need, and the health and integrity of our water (wai) and the wider environment (taiao). It will take time and strong, genuine engagement with our communities to determine what this means for Tauranga.
- Urban growth and infrastructure provision – being able to accurately identify the rate and location of urban development in our fast-growing city, to enable us to support this with the infrastructure needed.
- Regulatory compliance and legislative change – particularly the Three Waters/Local Water Done Well reform, resource management system reform, and freshwater management reform.
Taking an integrated three waters’ approach
Our Water Future programme
Our Water Future is a joint initiative of Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, with the overall goal of developing a holistic and integrated approach to the management of potable water, wastewater, and stormwater in the western Bay of Plenty sub-region.
Tangata Whenua Partnership Programme
The strong working partnership with mana whenua is an essential component in achieving our shared aspirations for the city’s three waters management.
Community and Stakeholder Engagement Programme
Supported by a customised communications plan for each water strategy and project or programme. Sustainable and affordable three water services are essential for the health and well-being of our community and for economic prosperity. Community welfare and economic need can no longer be thought of as over-riding the health and integrity of the wider environment – instead we must find the right balance. It will take time to determine what this means for Tauranga, and will require strong and genuine engagement with our communities.
Our 30-year waters plans