Selwyn Water Limited

Selwyn Water Limited is a Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO), fully owned by Selwyn District Council. It manages drinking water and wastewater services for the district.

Selwyn Water is a temporary name for the new water services entity, with a permanent name and brand to be announced in 2026 that reflects the organisation’s values, identity and aspirations for water in Selwyn.

Selwyn Water was established in response to the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms, which replaced the former Three Waters programme. These reforms were introduced to tackle nationwide challenges such as ageing infrastructure, underinvestment, and inconsistent service delivery. These issues had raised public health concerns and threatened the long-term sustainability of water services.

The new framework focuses on three key outcomes:

• Financial sustainability – ensuring water services can fund essential upgrades and growth
• Stronger regulatory oversight – meeting national standards set by Taumata Arowai and the Commerce Commission
• Local decision-making – keeping control and accountability with councils and communities

After reviewing options and consulting with the community on whether to keep drinking water and wastewater services in-house or establish a Water Services Council-Controlled Organisation (WSCCO), Selwyn District Council chose the WSCCO model. This approach keeps services in public ownership, focuses on Selwyn’s needs, and enables strategic investment to deliver safe, reliable water services for the future. You can read more about the Local Water Done Well public consultation here.

The management and governance of the drinking and wastewater, as well as the customer service and financing, will be transferred to Selwyn Water. Our residents should not notice any difference in the way their water services are delivered.

The organisation is 100% owned by the Selwyn District Council, meaning it remains in public hands and accountable to the community.

Selwyn Water is governed by an independent board of directors with strong expertise in governance, infrastructure, and public sector leadership. As a council-controlled organisation, Selwyn Water is also accountable to elected representatives through the Council. This governance structure ensures clear accountability, strong strategic direction, and effective stewardship of our drinking water and wastewater services.

Established to deliver these services with a focus on sustainability, resilience, and positive community outcomes, Selwyn Water’s governance reflects our commitment to transparent leadership as we plan for the long-term needs of the district.

Selwyn Water is responsible for delivering safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater services across the Selwyn district. This includes the operation, maintenance, compliance, and continuous improvement of the district’s drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure, as well as ongoing development of new infrastructure to meet the community’s needs.

Other water-related services, such as water races, stormwater management, and land drainage, will continue to be managed by Selwyn District Council. With a sole focus on drinking water and wastewater, Selwyn Water can prioritise sustainability, resilience, and high-quality service for the communities it serves.

The transition and establishment of Selwyn Water is planned to ensure no disruption or change in level of service to our community.

Water rates for 2025/26 were set through the Council’s Long‑Term Plan and Annual Plan following the usual process. From 1 July 2026, Selwyn Water will take over water billing, so you’ll receive a separate water bill instead of it being included with your rates.

An average urban household currently pays about $1,552 per year for drinking water and wastewater. The Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan originally forecast an increase of around 24% for 2026/27 (an average of around $1,924 per year).

Following a detailed review of asset and operational information received after assets transferred to Selwyn Water, the updated draft pricing now proposes a lower increase of 18% for 2026/27, that's around $1,831 per year, or less with lower water usage.

This means that for an average urban household receiving both drinking water and wastewater services (including volumetric charges based on the average urban water use of 257m³), the expected annual increase has reduced from $372 to $280, a savings of $92 from what was originally indicated.

For households receiving drinking water only, the expected increase has reduced from $178 to around $135, bringing the total annual bill to around $879, down from $922.

While efficiencies have already helped reduce the projected increase from 24% to 18%, this adjustment is still needed to support our fast‑growing district, keep up with rising costs, and continue meeting national standards. This includes the extra maintenance, investment, and monitoring required to keep our water services safe and reliable. Our proposed fees and charges remain draft with no final decisions made until engagement on our draft Water Services Strategy.

You can find out more by reading our media release here.

The projects identified in the Long-Term Plan, and any variations identified in the Annual Plan 2025/26, will continue to be delivered. The transition to Selwyn Water will not cause any disruption to projects and work programmes.

Maintenance and repairs will continue to be delivered by our network management contractor CORDE.

For now, Selwyn Water teams are using the Council’s communication channels to manage water-related queries. During the 6–12 month transition period, the Council’s customer support will continue to assist and can put you through directly to Selwyn Water teams.

You can still call 0800 SELWYN (735 996), or use Snap Send Solve to report any leaks or issues. You can also email the Water Services team on water.services@selwyn.govt.nz.

We will let you know once Selwyn Water has its own communication channels.

These will be notified in the same way that they are now, customers can subscribe to receive urgent water notices by text and email here: Subscribe to receive our water alerts.

You can also view the planned and unplanned water outages map on the urgent water notices page on this website.

Urgent water notices will continue to be published on the Council website and shared via social media. For now, updates will be posted on the Selwyn District Council Facebook page until Selwyn Water establishes its own channels.

Selwyn Water will remain accountable to the Council who in turn have accountability to the Selwyn community. A statement of expectations is now in place between the Council and the Selwyn Water including the ability to align strategic work programmes.

Selwyn Water will be required to publicly publish:

• Water Services Strategy
• Annual Report
• Annual Budget

The Council will have the opportunity to provide comment on the strategy and reports.

As a Council Controlled Organisation, Selwyn Water will be subject to the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Members of the public can request information directly from Selwyn Water under section 35A of the Local Government Act.