Wellington Water turning down the pressure, literally

Monday, 5 February 2024

A Brooklyn man has come up with an ingenious solution to divert water from a public leak, using an old ice cream container and a hose.

As the metaphorical pressure goes on Wellington Water and the city’s residents come up with ingenious ways to save water, the water agency is turning down the pressure — literally.

Wellington Water network development and delivery group manager Susannah Cullen confirmed “pressure management” was already being piloted in parts of Brooklyn, Melrose and Johnsonville.

The contraption leads to a sprinkler in the garden.

Turning down the pressure in pipes, using pressure-reducing valves, would mean less water lost in areas that already had high water pressure. Modelling predicted pressure reduction in the three areas could save up to 300,000 litres per day and prevent up to 40 new leaks per year, she said.

Work started in January but was being done gradually, with not all houses in each suburb affected. The pilot would became permanent if it was a success, she said.

The work comes as the Wellington region, except Kāpiti, is facing the reality that some taps may run dry this summer, with a lack of rain combined with failing infrastructure seeing about 44% of its water lost through leaks. That equates to more than 30 Olympic swimming pools of water per day.

All outdoor irrigation has now been banned and modelling shows the chances of a ban on all outdoor use, and people being asked to conserve water, is now at 60%. The chance of people being told to halve all use is at 23% and a regional state of emergency, in which some taps may run dry, remains a possibility.

However, modelling for Wellington Water shows the highest risk was during the first two weeks in February.

With a sprinkler ban resulting in dry lawns around Wellington, a number of residents have come up with ingenious ways to trap water leaking from public pipes.

One man in Brooklyn, who asked not to be named, used an old ice cream container to gather water from a leak, which he said was reported on New Year’s Eve, and divert it to his garden and sprinkler via a hose.

But he had sympathy for Wellington Water, which faced stinging criticism in a report publicly released on Thursday.

“I’m sure the guys and girls out there fixing leaks are doing their best,” he said.