Howick at a glance
A name about water
Auckland Emergency Management notes the area's older name, Owairoa, means 'long waters' and refers to its many tributaries, which is why it says preparing for floods and coastal inundation matters so much here.
Storms hit the coast, not the floods
Much of the board area escaped the 2023 Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. A deep low in January 2018 was different: king tides and gales brought coastal inundation, erosion and power outages to Howick.
Bigger pipes for the east
Watercare's Howick Loop Watermain upgrade swaps sections of pipe for larger ones so more water reaches the growing Howick, Pakūranga and Botany communities. The last stretches run under Pakūranga Road and Tī Rākau Drive, built alongside the Eastern Busway.
More homes going up
Stats NZ shows new dwellings consented in the Howick statistical area climbing from 10 in the year to March 2013 to 230 in the year to March 2026. Across the board, 79.7% of homes were still separate houses in 2023.
Who fixes what in Howick
The water meter is Watercare's. Everything from its outlet to your taps is yours, so a leak in the front yard between meter and house means calling a plumber, while one in the meter box or on the street side goes to Watercare. On the wastewater side, Watercare looks after its sewer up to where your private drain connects. Rain that can't drain away on your own section is normally yours to deal with; problems with council drains, ponds or roads go to Auckland Council on 09 301 0101.
Shops in Howick village sit in one of the Unitary Plan's business special character areas. Repairs and redecoration there are permitted, but additions to a character-defining building need resource consent, so check with the council before anything new goes on the outside.
Related pages
Close by: Pakuranga, Botany and East Tāmaki, or all of East Auckland. Auckland-wide: hot water cylinders, blocked drains, leak detection and gasfitting.
What we would do
Adding a minor dwelling or splitting the section? Watercare's customer contract says a second dwelling may need its own new connection, so ask Watercare early, while the plans can still change. For a repair on the house you already have, check the PGDB licence of whoever comes, then let an authorised Howick plumber or drainlayer get on with it.