A CASE STUDY: LESSONS LEARNT PREPARING A 30 YEAR INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY FOR THE QUEENSTOWN-LAKES DISTRICT

Lead Author: Polly Lambert Policy, Standards & Assets Planner, Queenstown Lakes District Council Queenstown Co-Author: Dr Deborah Lind Infrastructure Advisor, Rationale Ltd

Abstract

The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 became law on 8 August 2014, requiring councils to prepare an infrastructure strategy for at least a 30 year period, and to incorporate this into their long-term plans from 2015. The Queenstown Lakes District is a recognised tourism destination that supports economic growth across the southern part of the of and contributes significantly to the ‘NZ Inc.’ global brand. As such, the district is attractive to local and international investment in housing, services and visitor related activities. The current resident population of 29,000 supports the infrastructure services for a peak day population of 100,000 people. Combined with the fact that the District is one of the highest future growth areas in the country, this placed increased pressure on the three waters and transport services in terms of capacity and service delivery.

This paper will share the approach, challenges and outcomes of preparing a 30 year infrastructure strategy for the Queenstown Lakes District and the lessons learnt to inform, and improve on, future infrastructure planning.

Key Words (wiki’s)

30 Year Infrastructure Strategy, LGA Section 101, Asset Management, Forward Planning, Long Term Plan, Evidence Based Decision Making

adventure, exploration, creativity or relaxation. Our District The Queenstown Lakes District is The Queenstown Lakes District has a land synonymous with innovation, adventure and area of 8,705 km² and a total area (including bucket lists. Stunning scenery, a huge range Lake Hāwea, , and Lake of activities and its renowned warm welcome, ) of 9,357 km². cements its reputation as one of New Zealand’s favourite visitor destinations and is Queenstown Lakes is a seasonal playground, fast becoming a lifestyle choice for many high which means extreme seasonal weather profile careers and businesses which were variances, extreme resident versus tourist historically based overseas. Surrounded by population fluctuations and varying levels of majestic mountains and set on the shores of income and affordability. Over 1.6million the crystal clear waters of Lake Wakatipu, visitors arrived at during Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, the natural 2014 with another 1 million arriving by road. beauty and the unique energy of the region creates the perfect backdrop for Our People

The Queenstown Lakes District is the second ground frosts over 130 days per year. The fastest growing District in New Zealand after clear winter days with a low average rainfall Selwyn. The region has an estimated resident of 636mm per year create a unique climate population of 29,000 (2013 Census) and a within New Zealand. visitor peak of an additional 65,000. Under The Ministry for the Environment predicts the the medium population growth projections, following longer term changes in the regions the district’s population is expected to climate: increase by 64% from 30,700 in 2015 to • Temperatures are likely to be around 50,300 by 2045. 0.9˚C warmer by 2045, compared to Over the next 30 years, it is expected that 1990. there will be 19,600 additional residents and • is expected to become wetter, 8,700 additional dwellings in the district. particularly in winter and spring where average annual rainfall is likely to Queenstown (Māori: Tahuna) is the largest increase by 12 per cent by 2090. centre in , and the second Seasonal projections indicate that winter largest in Otago after . A resort rainfall is likely to increase by 29 per cent town, it is built around an inlet called by 2090. Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long • The number of storms is expected to thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial increase in winter and decrease in processes, and has spectacular views of summer. The intensity of these storms is nearby mountains such as , likely to increase in winter and decrease , Walter Peak and just above the in summer. town; and . • The frequency of extreme winds is likely Based on the 2013 Census, the usually to increase by between 2 and 5 per cent resident population of the Queenstown urban in almost all in area (including Fernhill, Frankton and Kelvin winter, and decrease by a similar amount Heights) is 15,000, an increase of 15% since in summer. 2006. • Significant decreases in seasonal snow Wanaka, originally settled during the gold are projected for the Otago region. The rush of the 19th century, is the second largest duration of snow cover is also likely to town in the district. It is situated at the decrease, particularly at lower elevations. southern end of Lake Wanaka, adjacent to The district is likely to see a shift towards the outflow of the lake to the . It increasing rainfall instead of snowfall as is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National snowlines rise to higher elevations due to Park. Wanaka is primarily a resort town with rising temperatures. both summer and winter seasons and is Changes in climate will have an effect on the based around its many outdoor opportunities. performance and lifespan of QLDCs Owing to the growing tourism business and infrastructure. Some of these effects may be the increasing number of young retirees in positive (i.e. possible increased efficiency of Wanaka, large growth is occurring, with a wastewater treatment processes due to population increase of up to 50% in the past increased temperatures) while others may be 10 years. negative (i.e. more extreme freeze / heat Other towns in the district have also been cycles making road surfaces age more built on pioneering, gold mining and farming quickly). foundations with their own unique tourist attractions and commercial activities – these So meeting the growth, tourism and climate include Arrowtown, Kingston, Glenorchy, drivers for the District - A nightmare, or a Hawea, Cardrona, and . challenge to the Infrastructure Planning Team? Our Climate The district is one of the coldest places in We look at it as a challenge. Very few New Zealand with an average temperature of Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) 10.7°C ranging from -10°C to +35°C with employees are actually born and bred locals, the majority have chosen to live, work and play in paradise. This challenge provides us • Resident population growth in the district an opportunity to shape and change our has typically been around 4.1% per year community and the District’s landscape. We since 1996, while dwelling growth has are the guardians of long life public assets, been around 3.6% per year. This rate of what we do now in terms of infrastructure, growth is high when compared to most new assets, forward planning and thinking will other towns in New Zealand. affect this region for a long time to come – we • Under the medium population growth want to get it right! projections, the district’s population is expected to increase by 64% from 30,700 in 2015 to 50,300 by 2045. The 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy - • Over the next 30 years, it is expected that Why Are We Doing It? there will be 19,600 additional residents and 8,700 additional dwellings in the To balance the needs and wants of the district. community, assets must be planned and managed well; failing to do so will impact The paper proactively released by the economic, environmental and social goals. Minister of Local Government in August 2013, The Local Government Act reforms stress the the “White Paper”, highlighted infrastructure importance of asset management planning as funds need to be used more effectively and part of prudent stewardship. efficiently. Territorial Authorities (TA’s) needed to better manage infrastructure and capital needs to meet the challenges ahead and to better consider the effects of lifecycle costs. It found TA's were constantly spending less than planned on capital and renewals – with QLDC being singled out as a forerunner in how not to do prudent investment decision making. We had flip flop investment plans, funding bubbles, and little alignment to existing strategies. We needed All the statistics are telling us: to improve information about our assets to help make the right calls. • Queenstown Lakes District is

experiencing a period of significant population growth. This places increased pressures on the three waters and transport services in terms of capacity and extents. • The district is a recognised tourism destination that supports economic growth across the southern part of the South Island. • The natural environment of the district consists of a variety of systems including

rivers, lakes, basins, wetlands, bush Councils under the recent amendments to the remnants, uplands, mountains and Local Government Act are required to shorelines. This combination plays a prepare a 30 Year Strategy. QLDC had significant role in the quality of life in the recently undergone a restructure of its district by providing recreation, economic, Infrastructure & Assets team and a new residential, conservation and servicing Assets Planning Team was created. This opportunities. As such, the district is team’s purpose was to commit QLDC to attractive to local and international sound asset management practice and investment in housing, services and address the historic failures highlighted in the visitor related activities. OAG report. The catch phrase of ‘evidence based decision making’ became the newly thinking and forward planning right and not formed Asset Planning Team’s mantra. concentrate on the template.

In developing the 30 Year Infrastructure We would get the basics right and build a Strategy and successful asset management foundation document – it would grow practices the intended outcomes were: generationally, not every three years prior to • To avoid bow waves in spend beyond the Long Term Planning process, but the 10-year plan; annually up to 2018. • To align the longer term forward planning and the investment We started by collating legacy strategies and programmes back to our strategies; investment programmes. We ran workshops, • There will be no surprises in our back to basic asset management 101 investment programme; sessions; we needed to take the stakeholders on the journey from the beginning. • There will be no further singling out Stakeholders included Infrastructure Portfolio from the Office of the Auditor General Councillors. • QLDC are leaders in robust

infrastructure asset management. However there was some confusion. The intention of the 30 Year Infrastructure The Process Strategy was to inform the Asset Management Plan and subsequently the

Long Term Plan. Our goal was to develop The 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy focused the Strategy for 30 years, take the first 15 on the core infrastructure services of: drinking years as the cut for the Asset Management water supplies, wastewater collection and Plans, then take the first 10 years as the cut treatment, stormwater management and for the Long Term Plan. discharge, roading and footpaths.

The process for developing this strategy was threefold:

1. Analysis of the geographical and demographic context in which the Council is operating; 2. Analysis of the key capital expenditure drivers, significant infrastructure issues In reality each document was being and risks, which are based upon historical developed simultaneously which meant to network data, performance data and local and froing between documents with not only knowledge; movement in project timing, but $’s and 3. Development of a major projects and impacts on the projects around them. This presented challenges in constantly aligning investment programme (capital the three documents and increased the risk of expenditure of $3.5 million or more) errors. Each document should have been timeline as the most likely future scenario. finalised and approved by all stakeholders We adopted early the Department of Internal before starting on the next, however we Affairs (DIA) 30 Year Strategy draft template missed this crucial step for several reasons (mock Makewhero District Council). This including: draft later changed significantly in format but • time constraints, we had by then completed our strategy so • the Infrastructure team had recently only made minor changes where we felt the been through a restructure and were new template was beneficial e.g. diagram of still defining and understanding their key projects over the planning period. The new roles; aim in this first generation document of the 30 • there were ownership issues, and Year Infrastructure Strategy was to get the resource issues; • a historic capital programme with with references to where we had addressed limited evidence justifying the these aspects within the document. programme and; • some stakeholders being engaged We will be agreeing the rules up front, late in the process. timeframes, inputs, templates, processes and the stakeholders – setting the deadlines and To change the behaviour of a culturally sticking to them, consulting and seeking reactive group whose focus was on the day to feedback at the right times with the right day and to reshape their thoughts into people. mapping a future was a challenge. In terms of the financials, there are several We did engage the auditors early – this was areas to improve our process. The projects immensely beneficial in getting the final in the strategy document should have been document across the line. referenced using a project ID for ease of look up when the aligning was required later but We presented expenditure as uninflated. also looking forward when refreshing and This was very much in opposition to the reviewing the strategy. These ID’s would be existing DIA template and auditor views but key to understanding what the investment one area we believed needed amendment. programmes were made up of. We felt the dollars of today were more transparent for the person in the street. The We would use scale ranges for spend and community wouldn’t understand the indexing approximate figures rather than being of dollars i.e. in 20-30 years from now. definitive to the dollar. Indexing hides the true increases in expenditure and reduced the transparency. We have sought early adoption of the NZ We eventually agreed with the auditors that Treasury’s National Infrastructure Unit (NIU) we would present uninflated expenditure for Better Business Case (BBC) to better inform clarity and include index indicators to show our infrastructure capital programme in a inflated expenditure also. systematic way that stakeholders can work together to provide a business case, with fit for purpose analysis, giving confidence that What we would do differently? investing in a proposed programme or project is justified. Ideally the 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy Queenstown Lakes District has 29,000 would be kept at a high level, we would resident population with a peak population of remove the project detail and especially around 100,000. We need to fully understand remove the detailed expenditure information usage – i.e. population vs usage which will as these are captured in the AMP. allows us to correctly forecast demand across We have built the foundation document and peak vs average and summer vs winter for all now it is time to move forward. Second and our infrastructure services. third generation documents, programmed for Our data and systems were found to be 2016, 2017, will be based around the maturity lacking. This was highlighted not only by of the template and addressing any external Asset Management benchmarking amendments which have come through from but also by the recent Infrastructure the DIA as they mature through their restructure. Going forward this can only processes. improve as we have created an Asset For future LTPs, we will follow a firm timeline. Planning team – complete with Data We will finalise the 30 Year Infrastructure Analysts, a Business Analyst, a Policy, Strategy on 30th June, the Asset Standards and Procedures Planner and a Management Plans the following December Financial Programmer. This team, along with and the Long Term Plan 6 months after that. the support of management and future investment in the models, systems, tools and For ease of reading, a summary table, processes will lead to the robust asset holding all LGA requirements will be added management systems we have been challenged to develop, implement and right time, for the right dollars, achieving the embed. right result!

Conclusion Acknowledgements

Developing a vision and strategy for • QLDC Infrastructure Team infrastructure planning to enable our District • Rationale Ltd to grow and be a place that people want to • MWH work, live and play is an evolving process. We are on a journey in preparing our next generation of strategies and asset References management plans. We recognise there are gaps in our knowledge and data, and time • Office of Minister of Local was a factor in this first generation document. Government: Better Local However, it has allowed us to identify our Government: Improving Infrastructure priorities through the asset management Delivery and Asset Management, improvement programme and with the August 2013 implementation of BBC going forward, it will • Office of the Auditor-General: Matters allow us to refine, interrogate and ultimately arising from the 2009-19 long term defend our investment programs. The catch council community plans, August phrase of ‘evidence based decision making’ 2010 has become the Asset Planning Teams new • http://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate- mantra. change/how-climate-change-affects- nz/how-might-climate-change-affect- The decisions we make now affect our my-region/otago community and the District for years to come, we need and want to get this right - programming infrastructure investment at the

Author Biography & Photo

Lead Author: Polly Lambert, Queenstown Lakes District Council Polly has 15 years of experience in Information Technology and Infrastructure asset management gained through her roles with Australian global investment banks and NZ local authorities.

Co-Author: Dr Deborah Lind, Rationale Ltd Deborah has 18 years of experience in asset management strategy & planning gained through her roles with NZ and UK water utilities and as a specialist consultant working in the UK, NZ, Pacific Islands and Australia. She brings a broad-spectrum perspective to infrastructure planning and has worked with QLDC to prepare their 30 year three water infrastructure strategy and asset management plans for 2015.