GMB Water Annual Business Plan 2025-2026 | Long Term Financial Plan | Asset Management Plan
GMB Water is seeking your feedback on essential documents that guide operations, financial sustainability, and asset management over the next financial year and decade. These documents include annual business plan, long term financial plan, and strategic asset management plan.
As with Council’s annual business plans, long term financial plans, and strategic asset management plans are essential documents that guide local government operations, financial sustainability, and asset management, GMB Water requires its own set of documents. Each document has a distinct purpose but they are closely interrelated to ensure coordinated, strategic planning and service deliver for the community/customers. These documents are legislatively required under the Local Government Act 1999.
About GMB Water
Council owns and operates the largest wastewater service of its kind run by any South Australian local government entity.
To meet the needs of its rapidly-growing community, Council is planning and delivering a program of wastewater and recycled water infrastructure works over the next 10 years, worth in excess of $190m.
In order to most effectively and efficiently manage the increasing scale, complexity and regulatory requirements of its wastewater and recycled water service, there is a need for ongoing specialist expertise that is outside the scope of Council’s traditional services and operations.
As such, the wastewater service is transitioning to a Section 42 Subsidiary, called GMB Water.
A Section 42 Subsidiary is a separate organisation established by the Council to manage specific services more efficiently while still being owned by the Council. This change allows Council to focus on delivering even higher-quality wastewater, recycled water, and bore water services to customers.
In January 2025, the Mount Barker Region Wastewater Utility Charter was gazetted. This sets out how the subsidiary will be established, how much authority Council gives to the Board, how Council decides who sits on the Board, and what reporting obligations the Board has.
What you can influence
The community can make submission on all aspects of the draft GMB Water Annual Business Plan 2025 - 2026 except any legislative factors. Some things to consider:
- Have we got the balance between delivery of services and projects for the community and the raising of service charges to pay for them right?
- In reviewing the list of proposed projects and services within the plan, are there any items GMB Water needs to consider to add, reduce or delete?
- What enhancements would you like to see within the plan?
How to have your say
You can provide your feedback by:
- uploading a submission using the online form below
- sending an email to yoursay@mountbarker.sa.gov.au
- mailing your submission to GMB Water, PO Box 54, Mount Barker SA 5251
- presenting in person, at the public meeting on Monday 16 June commencing at 6:00pm at the Mount Barker Council Chambers, 6 Dutton Road, Mount Barker. Please complete the online form to register to present.
For feedback to be considered it must be received by GMB Water no later than 5pm, Wednesday 25 June 2025.
About the documents
- Draft GMB Water Annual Business Plan (ABP) 2025-2026
The ABP outlines the priorities, projects and budget for the financial year. It translates the long-term goals into short-term actions. It details how the
budget will be allocated, what services will be provided, and how performance will be measured over the year.
Mount Barker is a developing council with a need to expand the budget to build future infrastructure, deliver services for a growing population, and increase standards so that the assets provided for the existing population are aligned with new developments. The Draft Annual Business Plan and Budget 2025-2026 shows how GMB Water proposes to manage its $102.4 million budget to deliver quality services while maintaining close to $346 million in assets across the council area.
Additionally, GMB Water proposes to invest $93.8 million in capital works including the Laratinga Water Recovery Plant and trunk sewers program.
There is a 5 year alignment of CWMS and sewer service charges.
GMB Water is proposing a 4.5% average service charge increase for the coming year.
GMB Water is keeping services charges as low as possible whilst delivering necessary projects that will deliver improved environmental sustainability and levels of service for customers. - Draft GMB Water Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) 2025-2035
The LTFP provides a 10-year financial outlook, forecasting income, expenses, capital investments, and debt levels. It plays a vital role in delivering
the objectives of the Community Plan 2044, GMB Water Strategy and Corporate Plan. It ensures financial sustainability by planning for future funding needs, economic conditions, and community expectations. It is updated each year in parallel with GMB Water’s annual budgeting and business planning processes.
The LTFP informs the ABP by showing what is financially achievable, and it incorporates costs from the SAMP, such as asset maintenance, renewal, and replacement.
LTFP shows confidence that we can keep up with current and future wastewater services demands and have the capacity to deliver key projects and core service deliverables over the next 10 years. Delivering inter-generational projects for our growing community.
Our capacity to deliver the LTFP over the next 10 years is not just from customer service charges, rather a combination of developer contributions and borrowings. - Draft GMB Water Strategic Asset Management Plan 2025-2035
SAMP outlines how GMB Water will manage its wastewater, recycled water and bore water infrastructure and physical assets over their lifecycle. The
SAMP sets the direction and prioritisation of asset management practices, and at a high level summarises current and aspirational practices. It links organisational objectives to asset management objectives.
The SAMP presents the overall investment plan (design, construction, maintenance and operation) for infrastructure of GMB Water over the next 10 years.
This plan feeds into the LTFP by providing long-term cost estimates and investment needs. The ABP reflects the annual activities and funding commitments for asset management.
The SAMP should be read in conjunction with the Community Plan 2044.
Managing assets responsibly to optimize their value and the services they offer is crucial for GMB Water. The SAMP is developed to evaluate the condition of the GMB Water’s assets and ascertain the required investment for operations, maintenance, renewal/replacement, upgrades, or downgrades as needed to meet desired service standards and demand.
Developing a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) fulfils GMB Water’s responsibilities as outlined in Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1999 to prepare an infrastructure and asset management plan.
