Our story
Tiaki Wai is a council-owned water organisation with a focus on maintaining and improving services for communities across Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington.
Tiaki Wai started operating on 1 July 2026, when we took over responsibility for water assets and funding and the delivery of water services from councils and Wellington Water. This change gave us the resources, independence and region-wide perspective to make sustainable, long-term investment decisions, rather than being limited by short-term funding cycles and competing priorities.
The region’s water, wastewater and stormwater networks are ageing and under pressure due to decades of underinvestment. Improvements will take time; but change is underway to support our region’s health, growth and future.
Our goal
To ensure the delivery of safe, reliable, environmentally friendly, and financially sustainable water services that will be resilient, restore te mana o te wai and enable new homes and the wellbeing of communities.
Oversight and accountability
Before Tiaki Wai, property owners paid for water services through their rates; but our work is funded through water services charges collected from property owners, borrowing, and other fees, charges and grants. We are acutely aware of the importance of every dollar and are focused on delivering value for money.
We are governed by a Board of Directors who report to the Tiaki Wai Partners’ Committee.
Read more about what the Partners expect from Tiaki Wai in the Statement of Expectations.
We are required to regularly disclose consistent, comparable information about our costs, investment, performance, and financial position to the Commerce Commission and our customers. We report to the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai on the environmental performance of water supply and wastewater networks.
Tiaki Wai operates within the legal framework of the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 and other relevant legislation.
History
Prior to establishing Tiaki Wai, water services were managed by Wellington Water.
Wellington Water was established in September 2014 as a result of a merger between Capacity Infrastructure Services and Greater Wellington Regional Councils water supply group.
In mid-2025, five councils - Hutt City, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City and Greater Wellington Regional Council - decided to establish Tiaki Wai in response to the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy and legislation. Our mana whenua partners are Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika.
The intent of establishing Tiaki Wai is to deliver better services for the community, meaning safe and reliable water supply and wastewater management for a growing population; reduced leaks, outages and unplanned disruptions; and cleaner harbours and waterways.
Te Mana o te Wai
Tiaki Wai is committed to working in a way that contributes to Te Mana o te Wai.
Te Mana o te Wai refers to the fundamental importance of water and recognises the importance of restoring and preserving the balance between the water, the wider environment, and the community.
Te Mana o te Wai protects the mauri (life force) of the water. It is embedded as a fundamental concept in the management of freshwater under the current National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, which is made under the Resource Management Act 1991.
For Tiaki Wai, Te Mana o te Wai is an enduring concept that guides our approach and our water services activities. Protecting the health and mauri of water is fundamental to our role.
Ensuring Te Mana o te Wai is enhanced is a key objective set by our Partners for our strategic planning and investment decision-making, through the Statement of Expectations. Tiaki Wai will seek to achieve this objective by approaching long term strategy and planning processes from a position of understanding our mana whenua and council partners’ aspirations and priorities in relation to Te Mana o te Wai, through to working with our mana whenua partners on service delivery.
To further support this work, Tiaki Wai will continue training for staff on the principles of Te Tiriti, te reo Māori learning, and capability building in te ao Māori, mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori (Māori world view, knowledge and practices).
Our Role
Our job is to provide safe and healthy drinking water, collect and treat wastewater, and ensure the stormwater network is well managed. We do this on behalf of our council owners.
We give our councils advice on their assets, and they make decisions on what to fund through their Long-Term Planning process. Councils also set the levels of water services and set policy.
We work to the budgets they set and prioritise our work to make the best use of the funding and resources provided to us.