The committees behind four rural water schemes in the Corriedale area of North Otago want to take control of their supplies from the Waitaki District Council while a proposal to buy them is worked through.
In recent years, the Kauru Hill, Windsor, Tokarahi and Awamoko committees - which, like North Otago schemes, are consumer-elected - have become more disenchanted with a lack of control over how their schemes are managed and, consequently, the cost of operating them.
Earlier this year those schemes, known as the Corriedale 4 Group, asked the council to create a single sub-committee representing the four supplies following the disestablishment of the four existing stand-alone subcommittees and the development of a single contract for the schemes' operation and maintenance.
Yesterday, the four scheme committees moved to clarify their position after council assets manager Neil Jorgensen suggested three of the four schemes favoured privatisations.
Awamoko scheme chairwoman Helen Brookes told the Otago Daily Times that was not correct. All four schemes had supported operating and maintaining their schemes themselves rather than through a council-managed contract and privatisation.
She said any proposals needed to be drawn up by council staff in consultation with the schemes' representatives, followed by full consultation with consumers.
Together, the four schemes are worth about $8 million, service about 1150 people and cover an area of about 50,000ha, with the bulk of the water used for stock.
Dr Brookes said privatising the schemes would take some time and those on the schemes did not want to wait that long for greater control over their supplies.
While the privatisation proposal was being implemented, it wanted the council to hand total management back to the schemes through a single consumer-elected subcommittee.
Before local body reorganisation in 1989, and from the 1960s when North Otago and New Zealand's first rural water schemes were financed and built, control rested with elected water committees.
However, since 1989 the powers of the committees have diminished, with the council contracting out a maintenance contract.
Committees now feel they could manage and operate their schemes more cheaply and efficiently.
