We recommend contacting us early to discuss your proposal.

Early engagement can:

• Identify potential constraints or capacity issues
• Help you understand requirements upfront
• Reduce delays later in the process

If your enquiry becomes detailed or project-specific, we recommend a pre-application meeting with Selwyn District Council (fees may apply).

Attendance from Selwyn Water is charged on a time-and-cost basis – see our fees and charges schedule for more.

You also can find more information about pre-application meetings on the Selwyn District Council website.

This assessment (previously called a 2 Waters Certificate) confirms whether there is sufficient drinking water and wastewater capacity available for your development. This is an important early step in assessing project feasibility.

You will typically need this for:

• Subdivisions
• Multi-unit developments
• Projects connecting to or modifying infrastructure

As Selwyn Water is responsible for drinking water and wastewater networks, the Capacity and Connection Assessment is issued directly to applicants as part of the development and subdivision process.

Selwyn District Council remains responsible for stormwater, water races, and land drainage. If your development requires any assessment or confirmation of surface water capacity, please contact the Council directly and read more on their 5 Waters Servicing Information.

Each Capacity and Connection Assessment is valid for six months at date of issue and confirms the number of drinking water and wastewater connections available for your site.

Apply now

Complete a Capacity and Connection Assessment form

We aim to respond within 15 working days.

If you don’t already have one, you will be prompted to sign-up for a MyWater account before completing the online application.

If your development requires resource consent, submit your application to Selwyn District Council. A valid Capacity and Connection Assessment must be submitted with your application.

The Council's planner remains your main contact for the consent process.

More information about resource consent is available on the Selwyn District Council website.

You can also access the relevant application forms to get started.

Engineering Design Approval is required for any works on Selwyn Water infrastructure and all new water and wastewater assets that will vest in us.

Our team reviews and approves your detailed design plans, reports, specifications, and construction methodologies. Designs must meet Selwyn District Council's Engineering Code of Practice.

Construction must not begin until your Engineering Design Approval from Selwyn Water has been issued.

Starting work without it may result in prosecution under the Council's water or wastewater bylaws.

You will need to provide:

• Engineering drawings and design documentation
• Supporting reports, specifications, and calculations
• Certification from a qualified engineer

Apply now

Complete the online Engineering Design Approval form

We aim to respond within 20 working days.

If you don’t already have one, you will be prompted to sign-up for a MyWater account before completing the online application.

Once you have Engineering Design Approval, construction can begin.

Please notify us at least 10 working days in advance and one of our Development Engineers will:

• Confirm pre-start meeting requirements
• Outline required hold-point inspections
• Attend hold-point inspections (48 hours minimum notice)
  
• Witness testing (unless an approved independent tester is used)
• Undertake random site visits
• Advise if regular site meetings are needed

Please allow at least two working days' notice for booking inspections.

Email us at development@selwynwater.co.nz

During construction

You must obtain approval to connect to our drinking water and wastewater network. Find out more about the requirements on our connecting to our network page.

You will need to complete a New Water Connection or Alteration Application form and a New Wastewater (sewer) Connection or Alteration Application form (below).

Please note: approval to connect to our network does not mean this will be a live connection.

Apply now

Use the links below to submit your applications.

• New Water Connection or Alteration Application form
• New Wastewater (sewer) Connection or Alteration Application form

After construction is complete

Submit as-built drawings of the completed works.

For multiple connections please email your as-built drawings (in PDF and .dwg format) to development@selwynwater.co.nz

For an individual connection use the following form

• New Connection As-Builts (Individual Connection) Submission form

Submit your drawings 10 working days from being completed. This is an important step which will help us streamline your s223/224 application process with Selwyn District Council.

At this stage, you need to apply for Council certification, once this is completed your development is formally approved.

• Section 223 certification confirms that your survey plan aligns with the approved resource consent, including the layout of lots and the drinking water and wastewater easements needed for assets that will vest in Selwyn Water.
• Section 224 certification confirms that all conditions of the consent have been met, including infrastructure requirements, enabling the survey plan to be deposited and titles issued.

These certifications are required before titles can be issued (for subdivisions), and before infrastructure is formally vested.

You can access the relevant information on the Selwyn District Council website.

Section 223 Certificates

Our team reviews the proposed location and size of easements that will vest in Selwyn Water.

Section 224 certificates

We assess quality assurance documentation submitted for Section 224 approval, checking it against your resource consent and Engineering Design Approval.

Selwyn District Council’s Planning Technical Advisory Team coordinates both s223 and s224 processes and will contact us directly as needed.

Your assigned Selwyn Water Development Engineer will contact you or your representative directly if further information or remediation is needed.

Once completed we will issue and approval letter to the Council.

A defects liability period (typically 1–2 years) applies once construction is complete and the assets have been connected to the network.

This period ensures that any issues with the newly constructed drinking water or wastewater infrastructure are identified and resolved before the assets are accepted into Selwyn Water’s long term ownership.

During this time:

• You are responsible for identifying and repairing any defects in the vested water and wastewater assets.
• Selwyn Water may carry out inspections to check asset condition, performance, and compliance with the approved design.
• Any defects must be repaired promptly, using materials and methods that meet the Engineering Code of Practice.
• If defects are not addressed, Selwyn Water may undertake the work and recover costs from the developer or bond.
• Operational issues reported by customers or contractors during this period may also trigger inspections, remediation requirements or immediate repair. If Selwyn Water is required to undertake critical or urgent repairs then costs may be recovered from the developer or bond.
  

Before the defects liability period ends, you will need to:

• Arrange a final defects liability inspection with Selwyn Water
• Provide any outstanding documentation, such as updated as-builts, test results, or maintenance records
• Complete all required repairs or remediation identified during the final inspection

Once all defects are resolved and the assets are confirmed to meet the required standard you will move to the final inspection and handover.

Once inspections confirm that assets meet requirements, we'll issue a certificate confirming acceptance of the vested assets.

You can then apply for your bond to be returned with Selwyn District Council.

From 8 July, Selwyn Water's updated land development process comes into effect. The new process provides a clearer, more structured pathway for developments, with defined stages, requirements and approval points from initial enquiry through to vesting. 

The updated process has been designed to provide greater clarity on infrastructure capacity, improve planning and coordination, and ensure developments can be efficiently assessed and connected to Selwyn Water's networks. 

No. Existing approvals that have already been granted will continue to be recognised.

You will only need to complete the remaining stages applicable to your development.

Yes. All new development applications submitted from 8 July must follow the new land development process.

Selwyn District Council remains responsible for resource consent applications and approvals, and will be your primary point of contact throughout the resource consent and subdivision certification process, including section 223 and section 224 certifications. 

Developments already progressing through the current process will transition to the new process at the appropriate stage.

The stage at which you enter the new process will depend on how far your development has progressed. 

A Capacity and Connection Assessment replaces the 2 Waters Certificate, confirms the servicing requirements and identifies how a proposed development may connect to Selwyn Water's infrastructure network.

The Capacity and Connection Assessment is required to be completed early in the development process before progressing to detailed design and consenting stages.

No. If your development has already received a 2 Waters Certificate, this will be recognised as equivalent to a Capacity and Connection Assessment and you do not need to complete this step again. 

If your development has already received resource consent from Selwyn District Council and has completed the 2 Waters Certificate stage, it will enter the new process at the Engineering Design Approval stage.

Detailed information about each stage of the updated land development process is available on our website, including requirements, documentation and next steps. 

If you're unsure how the new process applies to your development or have questions about any stage of the process, please contact our team at development@selwynwater.co.nz or call 0800 735 426.