Wellington Water investigations cost $330,000

• Wellington Water has revealed to RNZ the cost of two reports into the company
• The reports found Wellington Water was paying nearly three times more for unplanned water repairs than in other parts of the country
• They also found widespread structual issues and alleged fraud which has been referred to police
• A Wellington City councillor is looking at the council taking legal action against the water company

Wellington Water has revealed the price tag for two damning reports into the company was more than $300,000.

On Monday the summaries of two investigations by consultancy firms AECOM and Deloitte were made public.

They found the capital’s ratepayers were paying nearly three times more for unplanned water repairs than in other parts of the country.

The investigations also identified structual issues with oversight of its accounts, and an incident of alleged fraud which related to a worker who was no longer at the company.

Police confirmed to RNZ they received a report which related to alleged fraud matters late last year, which would be assessed.

RNZ can reveal Wellington Water paid $332,000 for the AECOM and Deloitte reports.

Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said the investigations and review process spanned months and included interviews with 38 staff members.

“This investment has already paid dividends.

“It’s identified a lack of oversight, assurance, and weak financial processes and controls around how we manage our consultants and contractors, which opens us up to risks around fraud.”

Wellington Water board chair Nick Leggett says he is “taking soundings” on whether he should resign after a scathing report.
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker

Dougherty told RNZ he could not say how much money the company had overspent due to the company’s lack of proper IT systems.

“We can’t supply this without a long manual process and detailed analysis, which would be time-consuming, costly, and take considerable resource.

“What is clear is that we haven’t delivered value for money, and that’s not good enough.”

Wellington City councillor Tim Brown told RNZ that he would instigate an effort for the council to take legal action against the directors of Wellington Water relating to how much money has been lost as a result of Wellington Water’s over spend on water repairs.

“It’s a large amount of money and it’s a very consequential failure and there should be heads rolling and there should be legal accountability.”

Wellington City councillor Ben McNulty told Morning Report that the reports were money well spent.

McNulty said an investigation into how much money was lost due to Wellington Water being overcharged was needed.

“We probably need to put more money in and do a forensic audit next because we actually need to quantify just how much ratepayers have been ripped off.”

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy told Morning Report all problems that Wellington Water has faced need to be unearthed.

“We can’t condone bad behaviour, and quite frankly we need to leave no stone unturned.”

Civil Contractors New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard told Morning Report it was difficult to compare the cost of network repairs in Wellington to others around the country.

“The maintenance required on the Wellington network is substantially higher than anyone else. So if you are looking at three times the cost, we are doing three times the work then we are anywhere else.”

Pollard said the industry was always looking at doing their work better, but noted the big issue was Wellington Water’s lack of governance and oversight.

“It is unfortunate and disappointing to see the deflecting away from what the true problem is here.”