Cabinet papers showed Marlborough and Tasman could be split between two water entities to align with iwi boundaries. Like most of the South Island, Seddon and Murchison were part of Ngāi Tahu’s takiwā (territory), so had been added to Entity ‘D’ with other cities in the takiwā, such as Christchurch. The rest of Marlborough and Tasman had been included in Entity ‘C’, along with Nelson, Wellington, Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
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Maps show Tasman and Marlborough could have their water assets split between two super entities. Maps suggested Marlborough and Tasman were the only councils to have their waters assets divided between two entities. The Department of Internal Affairs, which was leading the Three Waters reform, could not confirm if there were more.
Seddon gets its water from the Black Birch Stream.
Photo: LDR / Chloe Ranford
The water reforms could see Blenheim and Picton lumped in with the eastern and lower parts of the North Island, sharing the cost of water upgrades with the likes of Greater Wellington, Hawke s Bay and Gisborne.
Meanwhile, people in Seddon and Ward, in South Marlborough, could be splitting bills with the rest of the South Island, including Christchurch and Queenstown.
As it stands, the Three Waters shake-up could, in the long-term, leave residents in South Marlborough paying $380 more a year in water bills than those in the upper half of the region.