The Government wants to put Far North District Council (FNDC), Whangārei District Council (WDC), Kaipara District Council (KDC) and Auckland Council's drinking water, wastewater and stormwater functions into a giant top-of-New Zealand entity. FNDC councillor, Kaikohe's John Vujcich, said this money was to come from borrowing, and undoubtedly would be borne by Far North ratepayers. Far North mayor John Carter said there are a "number of concerns" about the reforms. This would be made up of:- $74.5m of drinking water assets supplying 10,200 Far North properties, 350km of water pipes across eight drinking water schemes. - $142.7m for 11,620 Far North properties connected to wastewater services, 432km of sewage pipes across 15 wastewater treatment plants.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 15, 2021 06:45 UTC