The council-owned company made an error in the fees and charges schedule of its water services strategy consultation. It incorrectly stated the owners of properties on roads with sewer lines they were not connected to would still have to pay the same full rate as a property using the sewer line.
Currently property owners in that situation would pay 50% of the annual $952 wastewater charge so they would be able to switch from septic tanks to the sewer network in the future.
The error was noticed by several submitters, including the Rolleston Residents Association.
Selwyn Water chief executive Alex Cabrera said the company was aware of the error.
“This was an oversight in how it was presented in the fees and charges schedule,” he said.
“As part of reviewing that feedback, we identified that the charge had been incorrectly entered as 100% rather than the intended 50%.
“The error occurred because the water supply serviceability charge is set at 100%, and that figure was inadvertently replicated for wastewater.”
Cabrera said the fee will remain as it was before Selwyn Water took over the delivery of drinking water and wastewater services from the council last July.
“We will be reviewing our strategy and pricing again in line with the council's next Long Term Plan and will continue to engage with the community on any changes.”
Residents’ association chair Mark Alexander was relieved the charge was an error.
There were 128 public submissions made on the water services strategy, which sets out Selwyn Water’s plan for the next 12 months. The submitters were also asked if they would support bringing infrastructure upgrades forward when the district’s growth was faster than expected if it would mean there bills increased.
The majority of the submitters did not support the move.
Cabrera did not say whether the public feedback would affect Selwyn Water’s plan to meet the demand from new growth.
“Through our engagement, we’ve been clear that wastewater capacity is an issue we need to investigate further. We are undertaking detailed work on this now and once that is complete, we will re-engage with the community to discuss the options and next steps.
“We have also been up front that we cannot compromise on public health and environmental requirements.”
In 2026/27, the company plans to spend $15.758 million on upgrades to the district’s water network to keep up with growth. It also plans to spend $24.194m on wastewater network projects over that period.
Selwyn Water’s strategy stated: “In several cases, actual development demand is exceeding the assumptions used in earlier infrastructure models, creating a material gap between existing capital budgets and the investment now required to maintain levels of service.
“In water and wastewater reticulation networks, growth has created the need for accelerated and expanded upgrades, including new pump stations, reticulation and storage to manage increasing peak demands and improve resilience.”
The Selwyn Water board is due to approve the strategy by Friday. It will then report back on how the community feedback was included in its decision by June 30.
The new pricing will take effect from July 1.
