During its meeting in Balclutha last week, the Clutha District Council gave its approval for the Waitaki District Council to re-enter the Southern Waters partnership.
Fellow members Gore and Central Otago had also given Waitaki a green light to rejoin, prior to Clutha’s approval.
At a Waitaki council meeting in July last year, councillors voted to withdraw from a proposed joint water services company with the Clutha, Central Otago and Gore District Councils, opting instead to manage its water services independently.
After the government rejected Waitaki’s standalone plan in October last year, the district’s freshly elected council reconsidered its position and, in February, began the process of rejoining the group.
Waitaki still needs to give its final approval of arrangements to rejoin at a meeting on Tuesday.
Clutha Mayor Jock Martin said Waitaki’s inclusion would benefit ratepayers in all four districts.
“As southern district councils, it makes sense for us all to be in this together to transition to a collaborative way of delivering water services that are safe, reliable and sustainable for our communities, and that meet the new national standards.
“There’s a real opportunity to share expertise and develop longer-term strategies as the different entities invest in better infrastructure.”
Southern Waters will take over delivering water services for its four member districts on July 1 next year.
