Environment Canterbury
Utilities and services
Councils are responsible for a wide range of utilities and services that we all rely on, from rubbish and recycling to street cleaning. Councils are currently also responsible for managing waste water, storm water and drinking water infrastructure – the ‘Three Waters’. But that may be about to change, with central government seeking to shift the delivery of Three Waters services to four new larger entities, which could borrow enough to upgrade the country’s water infrastructure.
Utilities and services
Councils are responsible for a wide range of utilities and services that we all rely on, from rubbish and recycling to street cleaning. Councils are currently also responsible for managing waste water, storm water and drinking water infrastructure – the ‘Three Waters’. But that may be about to change, with central government seeking to shift the delivery of Three Waters services to four new larger entities, which could borrow enough to upgrade the country’s water infrastructure.
Commit to safe water by protecting drinking water sources and working with councils to comply with the new Three Waters standards.
Compose faster and smarter consents by streamlining permits, licences and registrations with clearer rules and faster processing.
Engineer stronger environmental monitoring for floods, maritime conditions and rainfall levels so communities and industry can act quickly.
Advocate for water equity including preferential allocation.
Ensure consents for water are equitable to all and consider the negative effects first and foremost.
Provide greater oversight on coastal siren location and signage for coastal hazard zones.
Concentrate on core functions and reduce ECan's spending on wages, self-promotion, red tape, bureaucracy and hiding failures.
Prioritise working for the public rather than ideologies, reduce rates and provide actual transparency in ECan annual reports.
Reduce ECan staff and costs as staffing increased from 400 in 2010 costing $70 million to over 850 staff costing $274 million in 2024. We are paying over three times more for twice the staff with less results.
Ensure that resource consent applications are processed in a timely manner.
Monitor underground aquifers more proactively, for example, nitrate levels.
Say no to the central government's policy of discharging untreated effluent to land and water.
Work with local councils to make drinking water safer and eventually eliminate chlorine from drinking water.
Commit to safe water by protecting drinking water sources and working with councils to comply with the new Three Waters standards.
Compose faster and smarter consents by streamlining permits, licences and registrations with clearer rules and faster processing.
Engineer stronger environmental monitoring for floods, maritime conditions and rainfall levels so communities and industry can act quickly.
Advocate for water equity including preferential allocation.
Ensure consents for water are equitable to all and consider the negative effects first and foremost.
Provide greater oversight on coastal siren location and signage for coastal hazard zones.
Concentrate on core functions and reduce ECan's spending on wages, self-promotion, red tape, bureaucracy and hiding failures.
Prioritise working for the public rather than ideologies, reduce rates and provide actual transparency in ECan annual reports.
Reduce ECan staff and costs as staffing increased from 400 in 2010 costing $70 million to over 850 staff costing $274 million in 2024. We are paying over three times more for twice the staff with less results.
Ensure that resource consent applications are processed in a timely manner.
Monitor underground aquifers more proactively, for example, nitrate levels.
Say no to the central government's policy of discharging untreated effluent to land and water.
Work with local councils to make drinking water safer and eventually eliminate chlorine from drinking water.
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