Thank you to all those people who have given Council feedback on its plan to deliver water services in the future.

As at Wednesday morning, 90 submissions had been received and I hope more are coming, as this is one of the biggest decisions Council will make.

The future model for delivering drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services has been driven by Government’s Local Water Done Well programme, and that is aimed at ensuring Council infrastructure up and down the country is fit for the job.

These are matters Ashburton council has done sensibly in the past and we think we’ve made good decisions, providing the pipes and plants our district needs.

One question that I have been asked during this consultation process is about the privatisation of water services.

Government is committed to keeping water services in public ownership, prohibiting councils and water organisations from privatising them (selling them off). We think the Stand-Alone Business Unit we chose as our preferred model is similar to the inhouse way we have run water services in the past.

Council would still own assets and manage water services and set water rates, and elected members would still oversee everything. The SABU model adds on the requirement to develop and implement a Water Services Strategy, comply with regulators and ringfence finances so that water revenue collected is only spent on water services.

If you have questions about this work, then I urge you to go to itsourplace.nz and look at the Frequently Asked Questions, as there’s a lot of information there too.

Water of a different kind was on my mind this week too, when the national water-skiing champs got under way at a private lake.

This event had been planned for Lake Hood but high cyanobacteria levels led to a health warning and the lake being closed. It was gutting for everyone.

Environment Canterbury continues to test water from the lake and we will advise the community of any change. One thing we know is that once cyanobacteria becomes established in a lake it is hard to get rid of, but it is a naturally occurring thing and something we will have to manage going forward.

It’s been great to see lots of grandparents coming into Te Whare Whakatere this week, the first week of the school holidays. They’re heading to the Ashburton Library for an Easter egg hunt or to play road trip bingo – there are also plenty of activities happening in other Council facilities, like the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum and at EA Networks Centre.

If you’re caught short of ideas in wet weather, check out the What’s On guide for April!