Help shape New Zealand’s wastewater future

The Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai (the Authority) has begun consulting on proposed national wastewater environmental performance standards.

The proposed standards would apply to public wastewater networks, which serve just over 4 million people in New Zealand and are primarily owned and operated by local councils.

The Authority’s Head of Systems, Strategy and Performance, Sara McFall says national wastewater standards provide a significant opportunity to respond to a national infrastructure challenge, improve wastewater performance, and deliver cost efficiencies.

“Upgrading our public wastewater infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges facing New Zealand,” says Dr McFall.

“Around 60% of council-owned wastewater treatment plants are due to be reconsented in the next decade, with around 20% of these plants currently operating on expired consents. New Zealand’s population is growing. However, many wastewater networks aren’t built to accommodate this increased demand and need to be upgraded.”

The goal of wastewater standards is to put in place a clear framework to respond to this infrastructure challenge, and to set clear expectations about the treatment of wastewater in a way that helps councils as they plan for, fund and obtain consents for the necessary infrastructure upgrades, she said.

The proposed standards are expected to:

• result in significant cost and time efficiencies for consenting of wastewater treatment plants, in a way that responds to the bow wave of reconsenting of wastewater infrastructure over the next decade
• strike a balance between the cost of upgrading wastewater infrastructure while ensuring that public health and environmental outcomes are achieved
• create national consistency to give councils the certainty needed to plan and fund the significant infrastructure upgrades that much of New Zealand’s aging public wastewater networks requires
• set clear expectations about treatment quality to assist with community engagement about different options to manage wastewater
• ensure that, as a sector, there is good quality wastewater performance data to identify what’s working well as well as opportunities for improvement.

Based on case studies, it is estimated that territorial authorities could save up to 40% in consenting costs under the proposed standards. Standardisation of infrastructure and its operation will also result in better treatment of wastewater for lower cost over time.

“The proposed standards would require councils to consistently monitor and report on their wastewater performance in key areas. The transparency this provides would enable operators and the sector to identify improvement opportunities and also ensure that communities are aware of the environmental impact of this infrastructure and any risks to public health,” says Dr McFall.

“The Authority has engaged in an intensive process to develop the proposals in the discussion document and test them with sector leaders. This has included a technical review group comprising territorial authorities, regional councils and industry experts.

“Testing of the proposed standards as part of public submissions on the discussion document will further improve the quality of the proposals, and ensure they are fit for purpose for councils and their communities,” says Dr McFall.

Public consultation on the proposed wastewater standards is open until 5pm on Thursday, 24 April 2025.

For more information and to have your say, visit the consultation webpageoutbound.