Selwyn Water Company
Public meeting: Tuesday 10 February at 7.30pm at the Lincoln Events Centre, Baylis Lounge.
Water affects every household, farm, and business in Selwyn. Decisions about how it is governed shape costs, public health, growth, and environmental outcomes for decades. When trust in those decisions is weak, even technically sound systems struggle to earn public confidence.
The Selwyn Water Company, a council‑controlled organisation, has now been established to deliver water services. However, the model was rejected by the public less than a year ago, and many current councillors opposed it prior to the election. Within the first 100 days of the new council, there has been little visible reassessment or community re‑engagement. This has left many residents uncertain about whether the model has genuine democratic consent.
The core issue is not whether Selwyn should have safe, reliable, and efficient water services - that is universally agreed. The real question is whether the governance model has been properly reviewed, tested, and endorsed by the community it serves. Legitimacy matters as much as technical delivery.
Across the district, residents continue to raise concerns about lack of renewed mandate, blurred accountability between council and company, extra governance costs, reduced transparency, unclear control of public assets, procurement risks, weak integration with other council works, uncertainty around future national reforms, and fears of future privatisation.
This discussion is not a call for protest, nor for a predetermined outcome. It is a call for a formal review supported by clear numbers and genuine community consultation. There are only two credible long‑term pathways: either dissolve the Selwyn Water Company and return services in‑house with a clear transition plan, or formally ratify the company with renewed public consent and stronger transparency, accountability, and safeguards.
Regular open public meetings are proposed as a temporary trust‑building measure while this decision is worked through. They add daylight early, support councillors with direct community feedback, and can be discontinued once confidence is restored.
A public meeting will be held on Tuesday 10 February at 7.30pm at the Lincoln Events Centre, Baylis Lounge. All residents are welcome. Councillors and the Mayor are warmly invited.
The aim is simple: water services that are technically sound, financially responsible, and democratically legitimate - and that Selwyn communities can genuinely support.
by Zoran Rakovic, January 2026
