The five Wellington water leaks causing locals the most frustration

Thursday, 18 January 2024

Wellington moved to new water restrictions on Wednesday due to “a very high demand” for water, but leaks throughout the city continue to see water seep through the ground.

In its latest leaks update, Wellington Water reported it fixed 552 leaks in December, of which 42 were considered to be urgent and another 44 high priority.

The number of leaks and the length of time it takes to fix them has left many Wellington residents frustrated and at their wit’s end.

Wellington Water said the increased number of leaks was due to the age of the water pipes. It estimated around 45% of the drinking water going into council pipes was lost to leaks.

“This means Wellington Water has to prioritise where our crews go to make the best use of our resources and focus on fixing the biggest leaks that have the most impact on water supply. Many of which are underground and not easy to spot.”

Hundreds of residents have written in to Stuff sharing their anger over the situation and naming areas where leaks had been ongoing for months.

These are some of the water leaks across the region that locals are calling on the council to fix.

Tinakori Rd

Leaks appeared on Tinakori Rd some months ago.

It’s not the first time there’s been a leak on the road - in June 2023, water was flowing down the street.

The leak was first reported in 2020 and was the city’s “longest running leak”, according to Wellington Water data.

Amesbury Drive triple leak

Three water leaks all close together could be seen on Amesbury Drive in Churton Park.

Churton Park resident John Houghton, was surprised by the leaks in a suburb that was “relatively” new.

“The top right leak is severely damaging the road,” Houghton said.

Karepa St

A couple of residents said a leak on the Brooklyn street had been there for six weeks.

Julia Aldersley, said she’d only been aware of the leak since Tuesday, but had tried to log it with the council and could not get through.

A video taken by Aldersley had shown water gushing along the road.

Tory St

A leak near the Harvey Norman store on Wellington’s Tory St has been there since before Christmas, locals have said.

One resident said they first noticed the leak at the beginning of December and there seemed to have been no attempt to fix the issue yet.

Marine Parade

A leak on Marine Parade in Seatoun has attracted multiple calls to Wellington Water.

A Seatoun resident, who saw the leak over the weekend, said he’d checked on Wellington Water’s website and there were multiple job numbers allocated to it.

“It was listed as being of medium priority to them,” he said.