Northland Waters

This phase focuses on establishing the governance and operational foundation needed for the successful implementation of the council-controlled organisation (CCO) .

During this phase, several key foundation documents are developed, including a shareholder’s agreement and constitution, before the organisation is incorporated as its own legal entity in May 2026.

An establishment plan for Phase 2 is also developed during this phase, setting out the approach for standing up Northland Waters.

Strong governance and leadership are appointed during this phase to undertake detailed planning in phase 2 and enable the successful implementation of Northland Waters.

This phase aims to set up the water organisation so that it is fully prepared to assume service delivery and responsibilities by July 2027.

During this phase, transitional and operational activities required to establish a standalone business begin.

This includes development of a water services strategy, transfer agreements, budget, policies and procedures for asset management, capital delivery, systems and technology, operations, funding, financing, governance, legal and risk management.

Councils also prepare to continue the delivery of non-water services.

This phase aims to commence the delivery of water services under Northland Waters from 1 July 2027.

It marks the full transition of service delivery responsibilities to the newly established council-controlled organisation (CCO) as an independent entity with its own governance and operational teams.While some transition activities may still be required, the structure will take a form that supports business as usual operation.

Governance and leadership
The establishment of Northland Waters is being guided by a coordinated governance and leadership framework to support effective oversight, decision‑making and a successful transition into service delivery.

This includes leadership from elected members, independent advisers and an experienced establishment team working together to ensure the organisation is well prepared for incorporation and ongoing operations.

Collaboration between Northland’s district councils for Local Water Done Well began in early 2025 with the establishment of a cross‑council working group of elected members to consider options for working together across councils.

The group included the mayor and two elected members from each council and was reformed as the Elected Members Steering Group in December 2025 following local government elections. It is supported by council staff, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), and an independent adviser.

The Elected Members Steering Group guides the establishment of the council-controlled organisation (CCO) and considers the opportunities and impacts the changes may have on their respective districts.

Upon the organisation’s incorporation in May 2026, a Shareholder Representatives Group will be established to provide oversight of Northland Waters’ establishment, go-live and beyond.

Elected members of the steering group include:

• Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper (Chair)
• Far North Mayor Moko Tepania
• Kaipara Mayor Jonathan Larsen
• Far North District Councillor Ann Court
• Far North District Councillor John Vujcich
• Whangārei District Councillor Deb Harding
• Whangārei District Councillor Paul Yovich
• Kaipara District Councillor Craig Jepson
• Kaipara District Councillor Rachael Williams.

In December 2025, a highly qualified team of five was appointed to provide independent assurance and professional advice to elected members and implementation teams for the establishment of the council-controlled organisation (CCO).

The Establishment Advisory Group serves an interim advisory until the CCO becomes incorporated, after which it will become the first board of Northland Waters.

Together, the members bring a wealth of experience in leadership, governance, water infrastructure, law and finance, along with comprehensive knowledge of local government.

The Establishment Advisory Group members include:

• David Rankin – Former Chief Executive at Eke Panuku Development Auckland and Chief Executive at Auckland City Council.
• Steve Couper – Chief Digital Officer, Asia Pacific, New Zealand and Australia at Mott MacDonald, former President and board member at Water New Zealand, and fellow of Engineering New Zealand.
• Murray Bain – Chair at Electra Ltd, member of Water Services Delivery Plans Review Panel for the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), former Chair for the Northland and Auckland Water Services Entity Establishment Board.
• Michael Sage – Specialist water and infrastructure lawyer, Chair of New Plymouth District Council’s Water Services CCO, member of Gisborne District Council’s Water Services Committee, former Simpson Grierson Partner advising Watercare, Metrowater, Manukau Water and councils nationwide.
• Marlon Bridge – Chief Technical Adviser on Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms, former Deputy Chief Executive at Watercare and Chief Financial Officer at Manukau Water Ltd, and Chief Financial Officer at Watercare.

In September 2025, Whangārei District Council’s General Manager for Waters, Andrew Carvell, was seconded to lead the first phase of the council‑controlled organisation’s (CCO) implementation until a Chief Executive is appointed following incorporation.

During his secondment, Mr Carvell is responsible for putting in place governance and implementation leadership arrangements, developing the CCO’s guiding frameworks and preparing detailed plans to support a successful establishment.

As Northland Waters approaches incorporation, implementation will transition from being delivered by a small group of staff from each council to a dedicated team of establishment workstream leads. Once incorporated, a Chief Executive will be appointed by the Board.

By the end of Phase 2, Northland Waters’ workforce will be in place and ready to perform their functions.

A CCO is a Council‑Controlled Organisation.

In New Zealand local government, a council‑controlled organisation is a company or other entity that is owned or controlled by one or more councils, but operates at arm’s length from them on a day‑to‑day basis.

In simple terms:

• The councils own it (and set expectations)
• A Board governs it
• Management runs operations independently
• It is accountable to councils through formal reporting, statements of intent, and shareholder oversight

Stormwater assets will remain with their respective councils in terms of decision making and costs, however a shared service arrangement may be made with the council-controlled organisation (CCO) for operations.

This is because many critical parts of the system are shared across other council services too. For example, roads drain stormwater during heavy rain, and green spaces in parks and reserves are often designed to capture excess water where possible.

The three district councils have agreed to a budget of $1.5m for the first phase of implementation (scoping and preparation) at a council meeting in August 2025.  

A forecast of total establishment costs, based on the likely scope, timeframes and resource costs to deliver, is tentatively estimated at $8m to $15m. This consists of approximately $5m to $8m in establishment costs alongside $3m to $7m in IT costs (both implementation and licensing costs).

The final establishment budget would need to be refined based on stakeholder expectations. 

Following each council’s adoption of the joint water services delivery plan, a commitment agreement was signed by each council’s Chief Executive.

This agreement included that Whangarei District Council is to be the lead council whose responsibilities include:  

• managing project expenditure and tracing against the project budget 
• preparing agendas and scheduling governance meetings for the project 
• preparing reporting for governance meetings for the project  
• entering into agreements for the benefit of the project.

Councils have agreed in principle to an equal shareholding arrangement, whereby shares are divided equally between each participating council.

The Northland Local Water Done Well Working Group has agreed to a model that recognises the different starting points of each council in terms of water assets, debt levels and infrastructure investment needs.

This would be achieved by keeping financials ring-fenced for each district and having non-harmonised water charges for up to three years. Non-harmonised means water charges are different for residents in each district.

The exact details of this model are still to be worked through. It is expected that during the first three years, the CCO would be able to identify and prioritise some of the critical issues each district is facing and then be in a position to review its approach to finances and water charges.