BDC Councillors air affordability concerns with government

Buller District councillors yesterday told Department of Internal Affairs representatives they have real concerns about the ability of Buller people to afford increased water charges along with other current Council commitments. 

The cumulative impact of charges through the proposed joint council-controlled organisation Local Water Done Well, the Westport Flood Scheme and ongoing government reforms were discussed in a workshop with staff, DIA representatives Paul Barker and Dave Foster, Council’s legal firm Simpson Grierson, and Local Water Done Well Programme Director Teresa Wooding and Finance Lead Douglas Marshall. 

Councillors asked questions about what might happen should Buller decide to revoke its involvement with other West Coast councils in the new CCO. Some made it clear they believed Buller would be better off continuing in-house with providing three water services (reticulated water supplies, wastewater and stormwater services).   

The DIA representatives suggested in response that the Buller Long-Term Plan water costs were higher than the CCO costs but delivered less. 

The Buller, Grey and Westland district councils have agreed to form a water services CCO. The Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) for the West Coast was approved by the Secretary for Local Government on 18 November 2025. 

The DIA representatives urged Buller to continue along the track it had committed to. If Buller District Council (BDC) were to withdraw, DIA said the council could seek to amend the plan under legislation, but only where changes were “significant and necessary due to exceptional circumstances” under the Preliminary Arrangements Act.  

BDC would need to submit a new Water Services Delivery Plan. DIA representatives indicated this was unlikely to be accepted as they didn’t believe they had heard any information at the workshop that would be deemed exceptional circumstances, an example of which would be dealing with natural disasters. 

“A change of Council doesn’t constitute a reason for change.  There would have to be a very clear and compelling reason to change a plan,” Mr Barker said. 

Being part of the CCO would give the West Coast councils a greater ability to raise funds necessary for the huge list of water infrastructural works, they said. These works had not been adequately completed over recent decades, leaving Buller urgently needing to catch up.  Whether it was through a CCO or in-house, these costs were going to end up on ratepayers – either through increased fees, or increased debt for the council. 

The DIA representatives confirmed the CCO was the most cost-effective model available to Buller given the significant amount of investment required in the district’s water assets. They said benefits of the CCO included the ability to “bulk buy” and make contracting for works more attractive because of the bigger scale the combined districts would require.  

Legislation made it clear any water CCO would have to focus mainly on the provision of the three water services, so it could not be managed by an existing entity such as WestReef, as suggested by councillors. 

Comparisons with smaller councils standing alone were rejected, with DIA saying places such as Stratford faced much lower capital requirements and had per‑consumer costs about half those of Buller, and warning that alternative options if Buller pulled out did not “look that flash”. 

Councillors asked that government consider ways in which affordability issues could be addressed in Buller through mechanisms such as Development West Coast and the re-distribution of Minerals Royalties back into the district. 

A constitution and shareholders’ agreement will be presented to each West Coast council for approval in upcoming weeks. Buller councillors will also reconsider the drawdown of the $5 million required to establish the new CCO at their meeting on 23 March. 

-ENDS- 

For further information please contact: 
Community Engagement Team   
Buller District Council 
Media.Enquiries@bdc.govt.nz    

Disclaimer 

The information in this media release was correct at time of publication. Changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the information. 

Background: 

The set‑up is estimated to cost $5 million, with $4.75 million needing to be borrowed, and BDC responsible for administrative matters on behalf of the three councils. This borrowing would be transferred to the new water entity when it is set up and no costs would be incurred to Buller ratepayers as a consequence of that loan.