We Say/You Say: Leaks

Reporter Kāpiti Observer

Kia ora Kāpiti,

Have you had water supply cut off as a result of burst water mains? What other water problems are prevalent in your community?

Wellington residents are filing more than 50 complaints a day regarding the capital's ageing water infrastructure.

One leak near the Prime Minister's official residence in Tinakori Road has not been fixed since being first reported in September 2020.

Wellington Water spokesman Alex van Paassen says that some longer running leaks may not be showing up in data searches.

"Sometimes they get fixed but other nearby leaks are still going; sometimes the fix doesn't work, or a new leak pops up at the same place; sometimes they're private – private leaks can get into the neighbours at war territory," he said.

Van Paasen said that there were several reasons for the delayed fixes including Wellington Water's aging workforce, lack of skilled workers and an increase in work volume.

A presentation was delivered to Wellington City councillors in late-2020 showed that almost half of the cities pipes needed replacing, with $578 million needed to clear a variety of other accumulated issues.

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