Water New Zealand

Water infrastructure has been identified as the single most significant climate risk in Aotearoa New Zealand, according to the latest Climate Change Commission National Climate Change Risk Assessment report.

In this edition of Tāwara o te Wai, Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond discuss the implications and the impact on the water sector with climate change adaptation specialist James Hughes.

They ask what decisions do we, as a sector, need ...

For many New Zealanders, flooding has shifted from a distant risk to a lived reality.

In Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland the severe floods of 2023 helped spark a transformation around the understanding of flood risk.

In our latest podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa talk to Auckland Council flood risk leaders Nancy Baines and Nick Brown, about how communities now understand a lot more about flood risk. But how well prepared are the...

As we ramp up investment in much needed water infrastructure, it’s vital that we get good return and that the investment prioritises economic opportunity, environmental impact and social wellbeing.

In this episode of Tawara o te Wai, Jon and Emily speak with Jeff Whitty from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga about what is needed to ensure an effective, efficient and resilient water infrastructure fu...

New water entities are being set up across the country. Faced with challenges around affordability and the need to address the long term infrastructure deficit, it’s been said that the success of the Local Water Done Well reforms will largely hinge on the experience, calibre and courage of new Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) board members.

In this episode of Water New Zealand’s Tawara o te Wai podcast, hosts J...

Information disclosure will play a central role in improving the performance, accountability and long-term sustainability of Aotearoa New Zealand’s water services.

In this edition of Water New Zealand's Tāwara o te Wai podcast series, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa put the spotlight on the Commerce Commission to unravel what the information disclosure aspect of economic regulation means for councils and suppliers.

They spoke wit...

Attracting people to the water industry is becoming a key challenge - with thousands of extra skilled staff needed to fill job vacancies over the next 30 years.

In this Water New Zealand Tāwara o te Wai podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa spoke to two recent Water New Zealand award winners, Roanna Purcaru, who is the 2025 Young Water Professional of the Year and Jared Esaiah, who won the Trainee of the Year Award at this year&rsq...

How do you grapple with issues facing a community that will be below sea level by the turn of the century?

It’s clear that something has to change.

Jonathan Rowe, from the South Dunedin Future programme says the community is now looking at six possible solutions – from fight to flight and a range of options in between.

He spoke to Tāwara o te Wai hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa about how the initiative – a joint approa...

Indigenous values and knowledge are increasingly embedded in our relationship with water both in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the Tasman.

Ahead of Māori Language Week and the 10th IWA-ASPIRE and Water New Zealand Conference & Expo 2025 at Ōtautahi Christchurch, our hosts Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond are joined by Principal Aboriginal Cultural Advisor at Beca Hunter H20, Phil Duncan.  Phil’s a member of Australia&rsqu...

Councils have been under pressure to meet the September deadline for Water Services Delivery Plans and as part of that, finalise decisions about their future organisations – whether to form new Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) either on their own or across regional boundaries, or go it alone and continue to provide services in house.

But whatever the decision, there won’t be a business as usual option.

New requirem...

Engineers working in flood management are well-versed in the technical aspects of flooding.  But what happens when you talk to distressed people who have just lived through deeply traumatic experiences?

In this episode of Tāwara o te Wai, flood assessor Tom Nikkel and Auckland Council flood risk manager Fiona Macdonald,  working in the aftermath of the 2023 Auckland anniversary, reflect on the tension between the need to m...

As our plastic addiction continues to impact all corners of the globe, microplastics – tiny particles of plastic – that escape wastewater treatment plants have been found along our coastlines, throughout our water environment and in biosolids spread on land in Aotearoa New Zealand. Yet little is known about the long term impact on our environment - oceans, crops, soil and air and consequent health outcomes.

In this Tawa...

The water sector is facing global challenges – from climatechange to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity and resilience.

Finding solutions to these problems is bigger than one organisation or even one country.  That’s why it’sbecoming increasingly important to share ideas and collaborate across the world.

But the big challenge is how to do this on a practicallevel, and how to ensure that multi-dis...

Don’t be your organisation’s weakest link when it comes to cybersecurity, says audit manager, lawyer, director and cybersecurity enthusiast, Jennie Vickers.

In our latest Water New Zealand Tawara o te Wai podcast, Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond were joined by Jennie and the director of Mission Enablement at the National Cybersecurity Centre, Mike Jagusch.

As the pressure is on organisations to become efficient and more auto...

Understanding the common ground between Mātauranga Māori and western engineering science is key to unlocking great partnerships between mana whenua and councils.

Hastings District Council has developed a successful co-design approach enabling mana whenua partnership around water projects. This approach has led to the award-winning Waiaroha Discovery Centre combining hi-tech water treatment and community education.

In this Tawara o ...

Ensuring that water utilities have good understanding and management of their assets will be a key performance indicator that the Commerce Commission will focus on when it takes up its role as the new economic water regulator.

In this edition of Tāwara o te Wai Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond discuss economic regulation with Commerce Commission, general manager, infrastructure regulation, Andy Burgess.

He told them that a lot of money w...

More than eighteen months after Cyclone Gabrielle caused unprecedented mayhem in Hawkes Bay, we look at the lessons learnt and how we can better plan for resilience.

In our latest Tāwara o te Wai podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond look back at the events of February 2023 with Hastings District Council, Group Manager – Asset Manager, Craig Thew and Darren de Klerk, Business Director from Beca who’s leading the Sil...

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Turkey’s Istanbul is, believe it or not, a water reservoir from the 6th century.  The Basilica Cistern is a moody beautiful place with Byzantine pillars and modern Turkish sculptures.

In this Water New Zealand Tawara o te Wai podcast, we go back nearly 2,000 years – to the Byzantine world and a time when Rome moved its capital to Constantinople, now Istanbul.

Byzantine enth...

Could we ever reach the point of zero leakage from pipes?

Losing water due to leaking pipes is becoming increasingly unacceptable as climate change and water scarcity start to impact not only in Aotearoa New Zealand but also around the world.

The UK is facing a predicted water shortfall of almost 5,000 megalitres a day by 2050.  This has dramatically changed the economics and social licence around what is an acceptable level o...

The Government and Auckland Council recently announced that Watercare will be the first water service provider to become a new council-owned utility under the Local Water Done Well policy. 

Under the new arrangement, the council retains ownership and control over Watercare, but Watercare is provided with financial independence to access increased borrowing for investment in water services.

So what are the implications of this ...