Another Canterbury mayor has voiced concerns over the Government’s water reforms.

The Government is proposing to establish four publicly-owned entities to take responsibility of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure across New Zealand.

It claims this would “save ratepayers thousands of dollars and better ensuring the $120 to $185 billion investment in services can be made.”

Hurunui District Mayor Marie Black said “It does not fairly reflect our current position, and secondly it included an underlying message that Councils historically have under-invested in basic infrastructure assets.”

“I want ratepayers in the Hurunui District to understand that your Council team is currently scrutinising all this received information.”

Black said “it is seriously disappointing to hear that we have only eight weeks to apply this scrutiny and undertake community engagement, prior to making the final decision. We have intimate knowledge of our infrastructure and have invested heavily in these critical assets over recent years. It would appear on the facts in front of us that the compelling case for change is unfounded and we are unlikely to consider that this Reform Programme will bring the best outcome for our District.

“It is my opinion, the information that the government has provided is not robust enough to convince me that the proposed benefits of reform will be realised. Based on the information received to date and the comparative data that we have available, our Council will not be prepared to participate with this reform programme.”

On Wednesday Timaru District Mayor Nigel Bowen made a statement also rejecting the Government’s water reforms.