Direction.
Clarity.
Momentum.
New Zealand water is moving to regulated, customer-focused organisations that will be judged on evidence and results. I work alongside the leaders taking it there: seeing what's coming, working out what needs to be done, and how to tackle it with their team.
Four shifts every water leader will face this decade
The reforms set the structure. How each organisation responds to these shifts will decide how it performs, what it costs its customers, and how much its community trusts it.
Performance in public view
Commerce Commission information disclosure puts investment, performance and asset condition on the record every year. Boards will need to show the evidence behind their decisions, and the first disclosures set the baseline they are measured against.
Water treated as a resource that comes at a cost
Water productivity, metering and how water is charged for are now questions every water services strategy has to answer. Organisations that answer them early can shape demand and defer investment.
Networks that produce data
National asset data standards and smart metering turn networks into a source of information. The value comes from using that data in planning, investment and customer service.
Bigger organisations, the same communities
New water organisations make decisions further from the communities they serve. Engagement, transparency and clear reasons for each decision matter more as a result.
Judgement built where the decisions were real
I'm Marty Cole, and MWater Advance is my independent advisory practice. I've spent more than 30 years in public water services, most of it inside the councils and water organisations I now advise.
At Kāpiti Coast District Council I led asset management and investment planning across three Long Term Plan cycles and delivered the district's universal water metering and volumetric charging programme. At Wellington Water I led the region's first Strategic Asset Management Plan and its strategy-led investment planning framework. Before that I led a €50 million non-domestic metering programme in Ireland.
Today I work beside chief executives and water services managers on what Local Water Done Well and economic regulation mean for them: the decisions in front of them, how to frame them, and how to get their teams moving.
Your Adviser
- BE (Civil), CEng
- Former Chair, Water Services Managers Group, Water New Zealand
- Writer, Water New Zealand three waters Asset Data Standards implementation guide
- Co-author, Water Productivity paper, Water New Zealand 2026 conference
See what's coming, work out what needs to be done, get your team moving
I work alongside chief executives, water services managers and their teams in councils and the new water organisations.
What's coming
Economic regulation, information disclosure, water services strategies and the move to new water organisations all land on the same people. I read what's coming and set out what it means for your organisation early enough for you to act on it.
- Regulation and information disclosure readiness
- Input to water services strategies
- Organisation performance and efficiency uplift
What needs to be done
I work out the real problem and the decision it needs, then put it in a form your chief executive and board can act on.
- Problem definition and framing
- Decision papers and investment cases
- Water metering and volumetric charging decisions
How to tackle it
I work inside your team to turn the decision into a staged plan your people can carry, and build their capability as we go.
- Roadmaps and improvement plans
- Leadership and cross-council workshops
- Coaching and capability building
Recent and past work
A selection of the problems I've framed and the work that followed.
Universal water metering and volumetric charging
Led the $9.8 million programme that introduced universal metering and volumetric charging. Peak-day demand fell 25%, average-day demand 21%, and c. $36 million of source and storage investment was deferred by around 40 years.
First Strategic Asset Management Plan
Led the first SAMP and the 2021–24 strategy-led investment planning framework across c. $18 billion of three waters assets, giving councils clearer sight of risk, performance and funding trade-offs.
Long-term wastewater treatment strategy
Shaping the long-term strategy and staged investment for a wastewater treatment plant, working with the council's team and its consultants.
Framing the water metering decision
Working with the chief executive to set out the case for metering and the next steps the board needs to take.
Three waters Asset Data Standards implementation guide
Wrote the guide that helps water organisations put the national asset data standards into practice.
Situations where an independent view helps
These are the conversations that usually start a piece of work. If one sounds like your organisation, call me.
"Economic regulation is coming and we don't know where to start."
Working out what the Commerce Commission regime asks of you, where the gaps are, and which two or three things to do first.
"We're deciding whether to meter, and the politics are hard."
Building a case that holds up on the evidence, with the community and at the council table.
"Our investment programme isn't affordable and something has to give."
Making the trade-offs visible: what deferral costs in service and risk, and which choices can be reversed later.
"We're standing up a new water organisation and don't know what good looks like."
Setting up under Local Water Done Well: what the organisation needs on day one, and the order to build the rest in.
"Our business cases keep getting sent back."
Evidence, options analysis and benefit logic built to hold up with auditors, elected members and the public.
Practical tools and insights
Articles, guides and tools from my work in the New Zealand water sector.
Regulation Readiness Resources
Guides and tools to help water organisations prepare for economic regulation.
Explore →Water Sector Insights
Commentary, analysis, and publications on the issues shaping NZ's water sector.
Read more →Water Metering Resources
Reference documents, articles, and practical resources covering metering strategy.
Explore →2-Minute Readiness Quiz
12 questions. Instant actionable insight report delivered to your inbox.
Take the quiz →What's the decision in front of you?
If something is coming up and the way forward isn't clear yet, give me a call.