Help shape Auckland's water future

It is there when we wake up, when families start their day, when our schools open, hospitals care for people and businesses get to work. It supports our homes, our communities, our economy, our wellbeing and the natural environment we all depend on.

Most of the time, we barely have to think about it.

Serving 1.8 million Aucklanders from Wellsford in the north to Tuakau in the south, our network of pipes, treatment plants, pump stations and reservoirs delivers safe drinking water and manages wastewater across Auckland. Our job at Watercare is to care for this infrastructure, improve it where needed and prepare it for future generations.

Auckland’s population is growing and our infrastructure is ageing. A changing climate is making severe weather more frequent. We also need to meet community expectations for a healthier environment and meet regulation requirements. Meeting these challenges will require significant investment over the coming decades.

Planning for the future

We’re developing our first Water Services Strategy: a 10-year plan guided by a 30-year vision for Auckland’s water and wastewater services. It sets out what we want to achieve, the infrastructure we need and how we’ll respond to future challenges.

In early 2027, we’ll ask for your feedback on our plan as part of Auckland Council's Long-Term Plan consultation.

The choices ahead

Providing reliable water and wastewater services for a growing city means thinking carefully about where and how we invest.

Auckland needs continued investment to:

• Keep services reliable: Maintaining and replacing ageing pipes, treatment plants and other essential infrastructure.

• Support a growing Auckland: Making sure water and wastewater networks can meet the needs of new homes, businesses and communities.

• Prepare for a changing climate: Building resilience to droughts, floods and more extreme weather.

• Protect our environment: Improving how we manage wastewater and helping protect the environment Aucklanders value, including waterways.

• Make investment affordable: Balancing the need to invest in essential services with the costs customers will face.

These priorities are connected, and decisions about where, when and how we invest will involve trade-offs and choices.

Your feedback will help inform the final Water Services Strategy and investment decisions. It will be considered alongside technical advice, financial requirements, environmental obligations and regulatory expectations.

We're developing the strategy, building on previous engagement with Auckland communities and mana whenua, and considering the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Aucklanders will be invited to provide feedback on the proposed strategy and the choices that will help shape our water future.

Your feedback will be considered alongside technical, financial and regulatory requirements before finalising the strategy.

Stay informed and help shape Auckland's water future

Our water services affect everyone, and we want Aucklanders to understand the decisions ahead and have an opportunity to contribute.

Formal consultation isn't open yet, but you can stay informed as the strategy develops. We'll let you know when more information is available and how you can have your say in 2027.

How the strategy connects to investment and pricing

The Water Services Strategy will set the long-term direction for Auckland's water and wastewater services.

It will also inform our Price-Quality Proposal, which sets out the investment and funding we propose for the next regulatory period.

The Commerce Commission, New Zealand's economic regulator for water services, will assess the proposal and determine the requirements Watercare must meet, including the revenue we can recover from customers. Find out more here.