12. Question No. 12—Local GovernmentWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour—Northland) to the Associate Minister of Local GovernmentQuestion No. 12—Local Government12. WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour—Northland) to the Associate Minister of Local Government: What recent announcement has the Government made on rural water supplies?Hon KIERAN McANULTY (Associate Minister of Local Government): Last week when I was visiting the greatest little town in the country—Eketāhuna—I made a $10 million announcement for the Rural Drinking Water Programme. Most rural water suppliers are not impacted by the proposed reforms of water services so this programme will help them with treatment systems training and maintenance to help them keep their water safe as well as meet the new regulatory requirements and drinking-water rules. This programme provides direct support to those rural communities who rely on these water suppliers for their drinking water.Willow-Jean Prime: How does the programme help with capacity building in rural water suppliers?Hon KIERAN McANULTY: Under the Government's proposed water reforms many rural water suppliers will not be included in the water service entities. This means that they will have to upgrade water infrastructure themselves in order to meet minimum standards for safe drinking water. Many rural communities can't connect to council supplies and so are dependent on small rural water suppliers that often rely on volunteers. This $10 million programme will build capacity and capability of water infrastructure installers operators and maintainers in rural areas. It will train suppliers to maintain the infrastructure and make the process of meeting standards consistent across the country as easy as possible.Willow-Jean Prime: How does this announcement respond to the feedback the Minister received from rural and provincial councils?Hon KIERAN McANULTY: On my tour of 54 rural and provincial councils I heard that some rural water suppliers were concerned about the cost of upgrading their infrastructure and were unsure about what upgrades would actually be needed to meet the minimum standards. This announcement responds directly to that feedback and will help rural suppliers provide safe and affordable water to rural consumers into the future. It will also mean officials can work directly with suppliers to outline what is required. In many cases the suppliers won't actually need to change much in order to meet the standards.Willow-Jean Prime: What specific support is provided under this programme?Hon KIERAN McANULTY: Well the Government through Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) will install new drinking-water treatment equipment that meets proposed new drinking-water rules from Taumata Arowai to ensure water is safe to drink. CIP will maintain the equipment for five years and provide training to help keep the equipment running smoothly. This includes pumps UV filters and new technology such as remote monitoring. Once the equipment is installed rural suppliers will own the drinking-water treatment equipment.Willow-Jean Prime: How can rural water suppliers access the support?Hon KIERAN McANULTY: Rural water suppliers are asked to register at ruraldrinkingwater.govt.nz. Crown Infrastructure Partners will then make contact with the supplier and visit their site to find out about the scope of the rural community needs. CIP will then work with the supplier to confirm a detailed design which will be followed by installation of equipment training and support.