On 2 April 2026, Property Council submitted on IAWAI Water Services strategy.
Why this matters to our members
IAWAI is the new water council-controlled organisation (‘CCO’) created with Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council. IAWAI’s Water Services strategy sets out a capital investment strategy, operational expenses and potential sources of funding for the newly created CCO. Of particular concern is a new levy IAWAI looks to introduce, which charges new development $500 annually for new growth-related infrastructure.
Our view
Property Council welcomes the establishment of IAWAI as a shared water services organisation for Hamilton City Council and the Waikato District Council. Consolidating water services under a single entity has the potential to improve long-term planning, investment efficiency and service delivery. Realising these benefits will depend on IAWAI establishing a strong governance and management framework with the capability to plan for long-term infrastructure needs, manage cost pressures, and deliver investment efficiently. We do not support the double-charging of water infrastructure through both development contributions and the newly proposed levy. To ensure the strategy supports investment and growth in the region, we recommend funding and financing models that are transparent, user-pays and ring-fenced.
At a high level, we recommended:
- That IAWAI Undertakes research to understand the housing affordability impact this new levy is likely to cause;
- Growth-related water infrastructure should continue to be funded through existing development contribution policies;
- IAWAI ensures a clear and transparent separation between development contributions and water growth charges;
- IAWAI establishes a formal framework for innovation and developer partnerships, which allows for alternative water systems to reduce demand-based charges, developer agreements for infrastructure delivery in growth areas and water growth charge offsets for climate-resilient and lower-demand development outcomes;
- IAWAI implements clear transitional arrangements including: delayed implementation of water growth charges to 1 July 2027 to allow sufficient notice for development feasibility planning; recognition of existing development agreements and consents made before 1 July 2026; guidance on how projects already in the pipeline will be treated, including those who may be assessed under a development contribution policy at resource consent stage prior to 1 July 2026 but require a reassessment after this date; and early and proactive communication with the developer community in Hamilton-Waikato ahead of the 1 July 2026 implementation date;
- IAWAI publishes a clear growth and servicing plan that identifies infrastructure constraints and upgrade timelines, aligns infrastructure investment with planned growth areas and provides transparent information about network capacity and staging;
- Utilising the existing Hamilton City Council development contribution processes to establish the demand of HUEs, avoiding the need for developers to undertake multiple overlapping assessment processes;
- Adopting a demand-based charging framework that allows the actual water demand of non-residential developments to be assessed using water meters that indicate actual water usage; and
- IAWAI provide flexibility in payment options, including an option to pay the 25 year levy up-front.