What's up with water?

Hey Hamilton, you probably know by now that big changes are coming for water. On this page, you can find out all about how our water services work now. It takes a team of around 200 experts to run water services for Hamilton - making sure you get high-quality drinking water and returning treated wastewater back to the river.  

It's a huge job, and we're great at what we do. But our city is growing. We need to continue to invest in our network and future-proof water for Hamilton. 

So, why is change needed? 

All councils, including Hamilton City Council, are being asked to consider different, more cost-effective ways to provide drinking water, and manage wastewater and stormwater.  

Looking ahead, we need to invest more than ever before to maintain our networks for today’s residents, and prepare for tomorrow’s Hamiltonians. In case you missed it, we’re New Zealand’s fastest growing city for the second year in a row!  

We also need to keep up with water regulations from government, build resilience for extreme weather, and keep up with rising costs for the basics, like insurance and building materials.  

We need to minimise cost increases as much as possible, and spread costs fairly, and making changes will help us do that.

Restoring and protecting the environment is one of our core responsibilities under Te Ture Whaimana, the Vision and Strategy for the Waikato River.  

Our drinking water comes from the Waikato River, and our treated wastewater returns there. Council plays a key role in protecting and restoring the health and wellbeing of the awa and working collaboratively with iwi and our community to look after this taonga. Without change, it will become harder for us to do this as our city continues to grow.