An independent review into Wellington Water has revealed a raft of problems in the organisation's structure, leadership and culture which led to an accounting error that left a funding gap of more than $50m in the books.
The $51m error ended up in official advice provided to the region's mayors for their long-term plans, meaning that some council water projects will have to be pushed back to accommodate the shortfall.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said the report was "damning".
"It's pretty clear that things need to change, there are issues with culture, accountability and internal processes within Wellington Water that are completely unacceptable."
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker described it as "horrific".
"Reading it, it's a shocking paper to read."
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said the council felt it had been "let down".
A Wellington Water committee meeting among mayors in the Wellington region was held on Friday morning to discuss the latest review.
Part of the meeting was excluded to the public due to privacy concerns which Guppy was not pleased about, describing it as a "cover up".
When asked why he called it a cover up, he said: "Well, I was concerned that nothing was going to happen again. Everyone around that table had a responsibility about questioning, there's been issues about Wellington Water for a number of years."
Multiple recommendations were outlined in the report, including rebuilding trust and confidence of shareholding councils, middle management and staff in Wellington Water, restructuring the organisation for clearer accountability, treating the organisation's readiness for upcoming Government water reforms as separate from "business-as-usual work", a review of annual plan processes and a strengthening of government oversight.
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Wellington Water chairperson Nick Leggett told 1News the organisation needed to earn back public trust.
"It's something that we're now taking time and care to get right, because we haven't got it right to date."
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