16 February 2026
At a Council briefing last week, Selwyn Water Limited (SWL) confirmed a programme of improvements is underway to support the transition to direct customer billing from 1 July 2026. This work is focused on improving accuracy, efficiency and transparency, so Selwyn households and businesses receive fair and reliable water and wastewater charges from the outset and can have confidence in how these services are managed.
Selwyn District Council and SWL are working closely to resolve a number of issues identified through the transfer of drinking water and wastewater services to the council-controlled organisation.
As part of this transition, SWL has undertaken a detailed review of customer, asset and financial information, this work is required under its Statement of Expectations to ensure systems are robust before direct customer billing begins in July 2026.
That work has confirmed that a sizeable number of properties and businesses were not consistently recorded for water and trade waste charges under previous arrangements, and that some capital project costs and asset information now requires updating due to growth exceeding what was previously predicated in the long-term plan.
SWL is now verifying this information to ensure all users are correctly recorded, and investment decisions are based on reliable information. No changes to billing are occurring at this stage, and the focus is on getting the foundations right before direct billing starts in July 2026.
The Council and SWL have also identified the need to strengthen the accuracy of asset and capital investment information, so long-term planning reflects the cost of maintaining Selwyn’s water networks.
Mayor Lydia Gliddon says the work reflects Council’s commitment to fairness, transparency and responsible financial management.
“Setting up SWL has provided the opportunity to develop a new, purpose build billing system which is fit for the future, robust, and transparent for households and businesses.
“We’re not interested in glossing over issues. We’re focused on fixing them properly so households and businesses can trust the system going forward.”
“This is about taking a clear-eyed look at the facts, fixing what needs fixing, and making sure households and businesses can trust the system before billing changes,” says Mayor Gliddon.
“It’s important to be upfront with our community, some historic systems didn’t give us the clarity we need today. Addressing that now protects ratepayers and ensures costs are shared fairly.”
SWL Chief Executive Alex Cabrera says the company is focused on building reliable and accurate information and a single source of truth across customer, asset and financial systems.
“Clean, reliable data is the foundation of a well-managed water infrastructure network. It ensures people are billed accurately, costs distributed fairly and supports better planning, and data-driven investment decisions.
“Doing this work now means we can give the community confidence they are paying fairly for water use, and that decisions are being made on solid information before direct customer billing begins.”
Further updates will be provided as this work progresses.