Water leak forms sludge on popular Wellington path

Friday, 26 January 2024

A pedestrian fell into a hole in a footpath created by a water leak raising safety concerns.

Bill Guthrie was inspecting his rental property in Wellington’s inner city suburb of Thorndon when he noticed a strange substance seeping out of the pavement outside.

Leaking water was mixing with rubbish and vegetation to form a sludge on the path that is frequented by people visiting the shops and eateries of Tinakori village.

“I thought, it's quite a hell of a leak. If you had a leak of the year award… that could be a contender, you know, it's a beauty,” the 64-year-old said.

The region’s water provider, Wellington Water, estimates 45% of the drinking water it supplies is being lost through damaged pipes, with 3102 confirmed leaks across the region as of January 17.

The region moved to level two water restrictions this month due to demand issues, banning irrigation and sprinklers and requiring gardens to be watered by hand.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has pointed the blame to a “legacy of underinvestment” that had reached a tipping point.

The previous Labour government sought to address the issues through its Three Waters reforms which would have shifted control of water management from local to central government. But those were scrapped by the new government.

Guthrie’s property manager reported the leak to Wellington Water a year ago, but he said no action had been taken.

“It’s getting worse, I picked up quite a bit of rubbish out of it because bits of paper fall in there,” Guthrie said.

“It’s starting to get slimy now, you know, quite slippery.”

A water leak on a popular Wellington street that was left untreated for a year has created a slimy, slippery sludge.

It’s not the first time leaks have been reported on Tinakori Rd, and in June 2023 water was flowing down the street. A leak reported in 2020 was the city’s “longest running leak”, according to Wellington Water

Guthrie said the sludge outside his property was starting to gain notoriety among locals.

Stuff contacted Wellington Water on Monday for comment on what it was doing to address the issue but has not received a response.

Leak collapses pavement

Bernadine can hear water gushing like a torrent from a leaky pipe across the street from her home on Chatsworth Rd, Silverstream when she’s trying to sleep.

Her neighbour reported it to the council three months ago, but no action had been taken.

“I would say it’s leaking litres, several litres per minute… it sounds like there’s flooding,” Bernadine, who doesn’t want her surname used, said.

The water from the leaking pipe has collapsed a section of pavement and created a pothole in the path that is popular with residents of the leafy Upper Hutt suburb.

A local fell into the pothole on Monday morning, prompting Bernadine to contact the council to raise her safety concerns. Two cones have since been placed at the site.

“There’s lots of leaks in the area so it’s not uncommon. I know they’ve got a list… everyone wants their leaks fixed,” Bernadine said.

“But when it starts to collapse the concrete and its unsafe to walk… it’s ridiculous.”

Wellington Water sent staff out on Wednesday to fix the leak following questions from Stuff.

Whanau and Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy will meet with Local Government Minister Simeon Brown next Monday to discuss the region’s water issues.

Brown wrote a letter to the two mayors last week expressing his disappointment that they had failed to meet a deadline to provide information on how they were addressing the water shortages.

Whanau and Guppy said there was confusion over the information they had to provide, and requested the urgent meeting.