Water Services Authority stories
Residents in Pahiatua are set for fewer boil-water scares as Tararua District Council starts a year-long $4 million network upgrade.
About 40 households in Mangaore have been told to boil water after two dead rats were found in a reservoir during a routine inspection.
About a quarter of the Rakaia rollout cannot yet report readings, leaving Ashburton District Council unable to rely on the system for wider use.
Funding for sports facilities and community grants could be cut as Marlborough council tries to stay within a 4% rates cap.
Residents of the Ruapehu town were left without taps for nearly three days after a pipeline break went undetected, prompting calls for outside scrutiny.
Unrecorded sections of Southland's water network are complicating planning, as councillors were told the council still has pipes it cannot locate.
Ten years on, the outbreak still shapes drinking-water rules after contaminated taps sickened more than 5,500 people and killed four.
Untreated discharges, leakage and ageing assets are putting public health and the environment at risk, the water watchdog says.
Public health risks from contaminated drinking water remain at the heart of the reforms, as debate over local control overshadows safety.
Councils could get a simpler path to fund water upgrades after the mayors’ plan was backed as a more practical alternative to Three Waters.
National warns that the cost of merging local councils' water service IT systems for three waters reforms may exceed $500m.
The government’s plan could cut household costs, but councils fear losing control over water assets as a 30-year fix is pursued.
Councils face pressure to back long-delayed water reforms as NZD $761 million in funding is tied to fixing ageing networks and service failures.
