For Sanchia Jacobs, 2023 will be a big year for many reasons, but key among those will be the implementation of three waters reforms and the establishment of the new entities tasked with providing safe drinking water and environmentally sound wastewater disposal. 

The council CEO believes water reform of some description needs to happen, that it’s been universally acknowledged by councils across New Zealand and by the two major political parties.

“Three waters reform will go ahead no matter who is in power. Although the shape of it may change, there’s a universal acknowledgement that reform in this space needs to happen,” she asserted.

“A big part of my job this year is helping our council navigate the reforms in a sensible, practical, smart way.

“I guess the devil’s always in the detail. We don’t know yet whether it will succeed. What we do know, however, is that the current system hasn’t worked up to now.”

She said the emphasis now needs to be on ensuring that Central Otago’s views are well represented throughout the rollout of the reforms. 

“As changes are implemented, my focus will be on how the council works with the new three waters entities and that our affected staff are protected throughout the process. We must ensure they get good opportunities and are well looked after.” 

She believes the district’s water infrastructure compares well to the other 67 councils around New Zealand and that the water infrastructure has been well maintained, modified and expanded over the years. 

 “We’ve been pretty blessed in Central Otago to have had good councils successively, so we haven’t been diverted with lots of negative politics and other things that can steer you off track when needing to address infrastructure spending issues when required,” she said. 

“The districts had good people making pretty good decisions. We’ve made big decisions around Central Otago’s water supply and reticulation, but there’s always more to do in that area.”

The Central App will monitor the progress of the water reforms and provide you with updates as legislation is implemented throughout 2023.