Christchurch-based company City Care has been awarded the tender to maintain Dunedin's water and wastewater network, in a decision that affects 30 Dunedin City Council staff.
The tender, worth $4.6 million a year, was awarded to the Christchurch City Council-owned company last week, DCC Group Manager Water and Waste Laura McElhone said.
Commencement date for the contract, which is expected to deliver annual savings of at least $350,000, is February 28 next year.
The contract had an eight-year term, provided that contract performance measures were met, because that provided better value, Dr McElhone said.
"We are confident City Care will deliver a step change improvement in service levels, while delivering considerable savings to ratepayers and improving our understanding of our assets so we can plan better for the future."
Thirty DCC staff would be affected, she said. Any that transferred to City Care would do so on their existing terms and conditions of employment under a collective agreement.
It was not yet known if there would be redundancies, and the DCC was continuing to work constructively with the unions. The jobs to be transferred would remain in Dunedin, as City Care would be setting up a depot in the city.
City Care employees will carry out the maintenance work on the water and wastewater network, such as turning up to fix a burst water main or a blocked sewer.
Tim Gibson, City Care's General Manager National Maintenance, said the company was looking forward to working with the DCC and to establishing a presence in the region.
