Overwhelming rates bills and crippling debt - that's what a report has found Hawke's Bay will face if it does not take action to fix its drinking, waste and storm water.
A review has been released today on what a regional model for "three waters service" in the Bay could look like.
But the councils now have to shelve it while they wait for the government's new reforms.
RNZ reporter Tom Kitchin has more.
