On 1 July 2026, Upper Hutt households are expected to pay the first yearly $2,300 fee for the new water entity, Caring for Water (Tiaki Wai). Most families I know haven’t had enough time to prepare for that kind of hit.

For many, that’s money needed for basics — insurance, mortgage, petrol, power, food. And when households are forced to tighten their belts, our local shops and hospitality businesses feel it too. Less spending means fewer sales, fewer hours, and eventually fewer jobs. This affects all of us. Also remembering ratepayers will also be faced with a made up water usage charge until meters are installed, this is ridiculous in my view. no one should be charged for water usage at all let alone without a device to measure usage.

What’s even more worrying is the lack of transparency. The Upper Hutt Mayor won’t discuss key details with the wider community, and people are being left in the dark about decisions that directly impact their lives.Then there are the questions around how roles within Tiaki Wai were filled. Many in the community are concerned that some positions may have gone to people with personal or political ties to the Mayors. Whether that’s true or not, the fact that people believe it shows how much trust has eroded. At this point, it feels like we need an independent review of how Upper Hutt City Council is being run. Ratepayers deserve honesty, clarity, and decisions made for the community — not behind closed doors.

The start date of 1st July 2026 should be delayed until 1st July 2027 like some other councils have planned to give fair time to ratepayers to plan for this very expensive unneeded Entity .

Why water could not be left in the control of local councils is beyond me and something no one has ever bothered to explain to us. This would save us a lot of money in bonuses and huge salaries as I would imagine being paid to those board members.

A “thank you” to David McNicholas for sending this letter to The Upper Hutt Connection.

04/05/26