Arguments for and against the council’s proposed joint private/public Cardrona Water Scheme were shared at the recent Cardrona Water Scheme hearings (on August 4) .

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) received 26 public submissions; 20 opposed, five in support (including one for the Benbrae Resort Body Corporate on behalf of 44 apartments), and one neutral. 

A panel of three QLDC councillors (Quentin Smith, Glyn Lewers and Penny Clark) heard eight submitters, some of whom raised concerns ranging from a lack of details and distrust of council’s partnership deal with a private developer to the impact of the proposed Three Waters reforms, investment returns and cost recovery.

In 2020, the QLDC entered into a development agreement with Cardrona Valley Water Treatment Plant (CVWTP) to procure a water supply scheme for the Cardrona Valley which would be funded jointly by Cardrona residents and the developers of Mount Cardrona Station (MCS).

The budget for QLDC’s contribution in 2021 was estimated to be $8.1M (plus a further $1.5M over ten years) but recently revised costs have increased the budget to $17.2M.

The private developers of Mt Cardrona Station are willing to jointly fund a water treatment plant and service together with Cardrona ratepayers.

Cardrona Valley residents who choose to connect to the proposed water scheme would be asked to pay more than $16,000 per dwelling in development contributions.

The majority of submitters opposed to the proposed scheme expressed satisfaction with their current compliant private water service, and the undesirability of paying to connect to another scheme when they had already invested in existing private schemes.

Cardrona property owner Glenn Dawson, who recently completed a new build, estimated he’d invested between $130k-150k in his water and wastewater infrastructure to meet council’s standards and he was expecting a return on that investment rather than funding development contributions for a water connection he didn’t need. 

Thirteen of the 20 submissions against the proposed scheme were received from residents whose water is provided by the Cardrona Water Supply Ltd (CWSL), the largest existing private water scheme in Cardrona.

CWSL water supply contract manager for James Gardner-Hopkins acknowledged the council’s position that “it will not seek to recover costs” from those ratepayers who are happy to remain with their existing water supplier.

The recently commissioned Cardrona Wastewater Treatment Plant, jointly funded by MSC and Cardrona ratepayers, received community support.

However, if all CWSL’s current clients declined to pay the $16,490 per dwelling to connect to the new scheme, he estimated that would equate to roughly $7M in development contributions the council will not receive to fund the new scheme.

“That seems to be a significant risk in terms of council funding and raises the question of…how are those costs then going to be recovered,” he said.

Several property owners said the lack of transparent details about the scheme was worrisome.

One submitter said council cannot define how many dwellings are needed to pay for connections in order to make the scheme viable, while another, who lives outside Cardrona village but still within the proposed service area, questioned why he should pay up front for the water service when council could not confirm when he would be connected.

Also questioned was whether council had secured water rights to meet the capacity required and what effect central government’s proposed Three Waters reform might have. 

Property owner Glenn Dawson said it was “incongruous” that the QLDC wants central government to pause the Three Waters reform proposals until better costings and greater detail could be provided, yet appears determined to proceed with this Cardrona water scheme.

“I don’t see now is the right time for the QLDC to be investing a large sum of ratepayers funds with a private property developer in a water system that is yet to be fully engineered and thus fully costed. The unknowns are too great,” he said.

Speaking in support of the proposed scheme, Charles Roberts said even though development contributions for the project had almost doubled, this scheme was the best and cheapest long-term solution for the community, and that existing private water schemes will have new standards and risks to manage under the proposed Three Waters legislation.

Also speaking in support of the scheme were Andrew Spencer, of the Cardrona Valley Water Treatment Plant, and director and Mount Cardrona Station (MCS) owner Chris Morton.

Based on the success of the joint public/private Cardrona Wastewater Plant, recently commissioned to provide wastewater services to Cardrona Valley residents, they were confident the proposed water scheme would be of equal benefit to the community.

They said they had worked hard to keep construction costs down yet still meet council  requirements, regulations and legislation: “We want it to meet the standards but we want it to be efficient and economical,” Chris said.

CVWTP, which is sponsored by MCS, has already invested around $2.3M in design, consenting and procurement tenders in the new water treatment plant.

If QLDC chooses not to contribute ratepayer’s funds, the water scheme will still proceed but it would be reduced in capacity to supply water only to the MCS development, Chris said.

The hearing panel’s recommendations are scheduled for consideration at the next full council meeting in September.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App