Less than 1km of ‘very poor’ Wellington pipes fixed this year

Monday, 25 November 2024

The Wellington City Council’s “highest-ever” investment in water infrastructure will see less than 1km of pipes replaced this year, Wellington Water claims.

The capital’s has a total amount of pipes that would stretch from Wellington to beyond Fiji. Those deemed to be in a very poor condition would reach from the capital to beyond Taihape and those in a “poor condition“ would reach Auckland’s North Shore, data from the water utility shows.

But according to Wellington Water network strategy and planning general manager Julie Alexander, funding from the Wellington City Council this financial year for capital expenditure – money to replace old pipes rather than fix leaks – was enough to replace “less than 1km”. That is a little further than Lambton Quay from end to end.

“Our recommendation to the council for their [long-term plan] advice was to renew 40km of pipe every year for 30 years,” Alexander said. But based on Wellington City Council funding, 3.7km of pipes were renewed last year and “less than 1km of pipe renewals” was budgeted for this financial year.

The council had to set its 10-year budget earlier in 2024. After a summer of leaks and the threat of taps running dry it came up with a plan, which mayor Tory Whanau described as a 68% increase and, at $1.8 billion, “record” spending on water infrastructure. It also came with big rates rises that just came into effect and a forecast for many more.

That $1.8b was a mixture of capital funding (capex) for replacements plus operational funding, where leak fixes are funded.

But most of that spending for tap and storm water is planned for later years, when future councils will have to agree on it in their long-term and annual plans. Tap water capex will be almost nine times what it is now, in seven years’ time.

Waste water capital spending is the outlier, with big infrastructure spends this year and next costing the council about $350 million, not including the separately funded $400m sludge treatment facility at Moa Point.

The council was asked to confirm that its capex was only enough to replace less than 1km of pipes, when it planned to hit the 40km-a-year level, and why so little was being done this year.

“Council provides a capex budget to Wellington Water, as our trusted advisors, who prioritise this based on what they determine are the highest risks,” council spokesperson Richard MacLean said in a written statement.

In August, a water main between Kent and Cambridge terraces burst and flooded a just-installed cycleway leading Wellington Water to check the age of the pipe, which turned out to date back to 1890.

Now the water utility has released conditions of all pipes in the vicinity of the new cycle lane. Storm water pipes, deemed of “very high” critical importance, beneath the two roads were installed in 1937 and 1940. They were deemed to be in moderate to very good condition but Wellington Water had “uncertain” confidence in its assessment.

A very highly critical 1899 cast iron waste water pipe was in a “very poor” condition based on “very uncertain” information. The drinking water pipe that burst in August was deemed to be highly critical but in a good condition.

By the numbers

• 2966km of pipes in Wellington City (1236km drinking water, 742km storm water, 1090km waste water).

• 237km in a very poor condition.

• 653km in a very poor condition.

• 455km in a moderate condition.

• 1303km in a good condition.

• 317km in a very good condition.