South Wairarapa District Council’s Infrastructure Committee met on Thursday 13 August and discussed our water service transition, smarter water management, and progress across the district’s roading, water and community operations programmes. 

Meetings are open to the public and livestreamed on YouTube. We know not everyone can tune in, so here is a quick summary of some of the key matters considered. 

Smart water management trial explored 

The Committee discussed a proposal to investigate a proof-of-concept smart water meter trial for South Wairarapa.  

The proposed trial would use smart water meters to provide near real-time information about water consumption and potential leaks. A larger trial involving up to 100 properties in a focused area would provide more useful network-level data, while a smaller 20-meter trial would offer a lower-cost way to test the technology and operational requirements. 

The technology could support improved water-loss detection, more accurate consumption information, and future decisions about smart-meter deployment.  

The Committee requested that the Chief Executive engage with the Waitī Waters Board, and report back on the feasibility of carrying out a trial.  

Infrastructure projects continue to advance 

The Committee received updates from the Infrastructure and Community Operations teams covering roading, water and community operations. 

Highlights from the roading team:  

• Work is ongoing to remediate roads following the significant weather events this year, in particular after the June and July events. The scale and frequency of recovery activities have significantly affected the delivery and funding of routine maintenance and operational works across the network. 
• Kerb and channel renewals have been completed on Featherston’s Lyons Street, Watt Street, Harrison Street and Regent Street. 
• Stage one of the EcoReef works at Whatarangi is complete, with further stages at Turners Bay moving into planning and delivery. 
• Progress is being made on options to address vulnerable infrastructure of the ‘Gluepot’ on Te Awaiti Road, Lower Valley Bridge, Whakatomotomo Road, Tuturumuri on White Rock Road.  

Highlights from the water team 

• Stage one of the Featherston watermain replacement and upgrades project is 98 percent complete, with planning for stage two underway. 
• The Waiohine Water Treatment Plant dosing upgrade is almost complete. This caustic-dosing system is safer and more dependable, reducing health and safety risks and ongoing operating costs. 
• The Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough wastewater treatment plant upgrade project has commenced, following the contract award to Filtec. Read more about this here: Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades project begins – SWDC 
• Revised planning is under way for desludging of Greytown wastewater treatment 
  plant following the need to accommodate a new location and potential changes prompted by flooding. 

Highlights from Community Operations  

• Completion of the Carkeek Observatory protective structure is complete but due to bad weather, the drainage and fencing work is still awaiting completion. Council is working with the Featherston Heritage Museum about storing some of the original observatory pieces.  
• Greytown Campground driveway has been resurfaced. Other resurfacing works are scheduled for later this year, including Greytown’s public carpark behind the Workingmen’s Club.  
• The flooring at Martinborough pool has been renovated in response to slipperiness concerns. Changing-room roofing will be renewed before the season begins.  
• Featherston will get a second ‘Welcome to Featherston’ sign for the south of the town following approval by NZTA, helping progress a legacy community project.  

Water transition programmes  

Councillors also heard updates about the establishment programme for Waitī Waters, and the transition of the Council’s three waters operations and maintenance from Wellington Water to Citycare Water. 

Where to find more information 

Find the full meeting agenda which includes detailed reports from each of the teams: Infrastructure Committee – 13 August 2026 – SWDC 

Watch the meeting recording on YouTube: Infrastructure Committee – 13 August 2026