Residents and ratepayers across the Waikato District have now received their new rates invoice for the 2026/27 year and yes, these do look a little different; here’s why.
On 1 July 2026, water and wastewater services for our district became the responsibility of a jointly owned Hamilton City and Waikato District water entity IAWAI (Flowing Waters).
It’s not a private company, but a joint venture owned by the two councils on behalf of all ratepayers. This means the new rates notice does look different to previous notices, because the charges for water are now listed separately on the same invoice.
It’s important to note that the way the fees are calculated for water and wastewater services hasn’t changed.
No rates invoices or increases are welcomed, and we know there’s some confusion about what might seem like new costs; but the services you receive and pay for haven’t changed- they’re just shown differently.
We all accept costs inevitably go up (you’ll see that on at the petrol pump, insurance, electricity or grocery bill). But we have worked very hard to reduce rates and have halved what would have been the proposed increase projected by the previous council.
The rates increase for 2026/27 is lower than central government’s proposed 4% rates cap. We managed to come in with a general rate increase 2.8% (with average targeted rates -excluding water and waste water- adding a further 1% for a total average of 3.79%).
This follows a series of cost-saving initiatives, including pausing and stopping certain technology upgrades, managing staff vacancies and numbers, and major savings through procurement initiatives.
It’s difficult to state these in actual dollars as the value of the property and how that may have changed relative to others in the district also comes into effect.
The fine print
For those connected to drinking water supply and wastewater services we can state the actual values and here the Fixed Charge increased by $142.20 (from $2,348.39 to $2,490.61 per year).
For our semi-rural ratepayers who may have water supplied but have their own wastewater (septic tanks), the individual rates reflect this with a lower rate for water only. And for those who do not receive water or wastewater disposal, there should not be a charge for this on your bill.
In Waikato District we charge for the water you use (i.e. the volumetric charge), whereas some other councils just include an ‘estimated charge into their fees for all. That means someone in a single person household is being charged for the same ‘usage’ as a family of, say, 7). Charging only for what you use is fairer.
A household’s use of treated water increases by $0.15 per 1000L of water (from $2.59 to $2.74). If comparing these costs to Auckland charges, it’s important to note that Auckland has a volumetric charge for wastewater, set at 78.5% of the drinking water usage, that is often higher than their fixed charge. Here in the Waikato, there is no variable charge for wastewater, but a higher fixed charge instead.
All property owners pay rates to their local council, and these rates help keep the district running and fund the everyday services people often take for granted: including local roads, libraries, parks, cemeteries, footpaths and cycleways, swimming pools, rubbish and recycling, and emergency management responses. All these help shape the wellbeing of our communities and help foster a healthy, safe, and thriving Waikato district.
I understand any rates increase will be challenging for households and businesses already under pressure from the rising cost of living. Instalments along with the government’s rates rebate scheme initiative are in place for eligible ratepayers, and we will continue our focus on getting costs down across all we do.
If you have any questions about your rates bill, then please call the council on 0800 492 452 to discuss
Mayor Aksel Bech
