Wellington Water infrastructure failures place staff numbers under the pump

Friday, 24 January 2020

Wellington Water has its fingers crossed a third break in the city's dated infrastructure doesn't happen anytime soon.

Willis St will be closed until April while workers patch up a wastewater pipe which sent wastewater flowing in to the city's harbour, while also working to transport sludge from Moa Point to the Southern Landfill after wastewater pipes burst.

At a BBQ for workers on Friday, Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton said the current situation at Moa Point had not detracted any workers from the job on Willis St, but they were reaching full capacity.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster at a BBQ for staff working on Willis St repairs.

'We would be struggling if anything else was to happen.'

* Wellington's wounded water system

Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton says it would be struggling if anything else was to happen.

* Sewage leaking into harbour

Wellington Water contractors are transporting sludge from a break at the Moa Point Treatment Plant to the landfill.

* Olympic-sized pool of sewage**

A sample of the sludge that Wellington Water is trucking to the Southern landfill.

Crampton said there were two parts to the fix on Willis St - getting the temporary pipe underground, and then working to get the road functioning again.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster at an earlier visit to the site on the corner of Willis and Dixon streets.

They would have the black pipe off the road by March 31, at the latest, he said.

'We're very conscious that while that black pipe saves wastewater from going in to the harbour in a temporary fashion, it's now inconveniencing businesses and we don't have the road open.

'All of our focus and energy is removing and putting the black pipe off the surface and underground, where it belongs.'

On Friday, staff were working on the end of the pipe near Dixon St, he said. 'We're just putting the shoring in the first part of the road, they're about to lay the first bit off pipe.'

Once the pipe was down, the Wellington City Council would then need to do work to reopen the road - likely to take until well in to April.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said the resulting damage to the system was not caused by chronic underfunding.

'We spend about $180 million a year. According to our asset management plan that's about the right number.

'But it will be rising over a period of time and as pipes begin to age.'

The recent spate of issues had prompted some questioning, Foster said.

'Out of these different incidents there are some extra questions that we've asked Wellington Water, some things that we might learn from them.'

The monitoring regime and how often certain pipes were inspected may be considered further, he said.

'We want to keep our infrastructure working as best we can.'