Watercare spends $11m on consultants for delayed Huia treatment plant project

NZ Herald

13-05-2025

Since 2018, Watercare has spent $22.6m on the Huia plant replacement projects, according to figures released to the Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
Of the total figure, $8.5m related to property purchases, which Watercare said are likely to be sold once the project is finished, and $7.7m was spent on obtaining resource consent, which encountered environmental issues and appeals.
Engineering consultants Aurecon were the highest paid of the 57 vendors at $2.4m, followed by law firm Simpson Grierson ($1.7m), engineering consultants Tonkin & Taylor ($1.4m), and landscape architect Boffa Miskell ($1.3m). Most vendors were paid tens of thousands of dollars or less. The cheapest vendor was Print Consultants ($220).
In a statement, Watercare said that since the project was granted resource consent in late 2023, there was more certainty about what was required, and other projects had been grouped with the plant for a total cost of $1.1b.
Figures showed the 2018 cost of $420m had changed in scope and cost to about $980m in 2025, and the remainder of the $1.1b was new projects.
A confidential business update to the board in April this year said some of the water projects were 'extremely complex' and 'associated works are significantly behind historic schedule'.
The statement reiterated the earlier view of Watercare chief executive Dave Chambers that the $1.1b cost of the project was realistic and represented good value for Aucklanders.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is also relaxed about the project cost, telling the Herald in March that improvements had been planned for several years and the overall project would build water supply resilience across the north and west network.
'I expect Watercare has carefully considered its projects and will work to ensure the investment provides good value for what they're spending. We have seen in Wellington what happens when there is under-investment in water infrastructure. We don't want to see that happen in Auckland,' he said.
The billion-dollar project has also come to the attention of the Commerce Commission, which has been appointed by the Government to monitor Watercare's finances and other performance measures under a charter until 2028.
Commission chairman Dr John Small said Aucklanders could expect greater transparency and accountability from Watercare, including quarterly reports on capital projects.
'We expect this to include the programme of work for the Huia water treatment plant.'