A water expert has cautioned councils against not investing in local operators, saying those behind the scenes are often undervalued.

Iain Rabbitts made the comments at an Invercargill City Council workshop about Local Water Done Well — the government’s plan to address infrastructure challenges.

The engineer and former board member of Water New Zealand has spent time in Invercargill as it prepares for incoming reform.

Rabbitts assessed Invercargill’s water asset risks to be in good shape, but said getting the right people to do the job remained a challenge for the industry.

“We have underinvested in our people for about 30 or 40 years, and there’s a huge amount of catchup to go on,” he said of the sector.

“Our water treatment operators are keeping water safe for 50,000 people or so. That’s a huge responsibility, and they have huge liabilities under the Act, personally.

“And they can get $10 an hour more driving a digger and they’re home by 5 o’clock and not on call.

“The value we put on our operators, I think, is far too small.”

Rabbitts urged the council not to skimp on the amount of money it invested in training staff when it looked at ways to cut costs.

While investment in infrastructure could always be more, he said the council was doing well in regards to leakage rates, pipelines and the treatment plant.

The two biggest risks affecting the city were reliance on a single water source and backflow, he said, but both issues were being addressed.

Tuesday's meeting also looked at water-related risks deemed ‘out of tolerance’ against the council’s current long term plan.

That included a lack of reticulation to Ōtatara — which now has a population of more than 2500 — and Bluff’s water supply capacity.

A lack of fencing and signage next to deep stormwater ditches in busy areas was also an issue.

Council group manager infrastructure Erin Moogan noted although Ōtatara was listed as a rural area in the council’s district plan, it was actually treated as urban by fire services because of its growth.

The workshop was a chance for councillors to be briefed on Local Water Done Well, but no decisions were made.

Those will be reserved for January when the council determines its next steps, including what it will consult on.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air