Torbay, from the records
Torbay-Waiake in the census
Stats NZ's Torbay-Waiake area had 5,838 private dwellings in 2023, 5,430 of them occupied. 58% of households owned their home and 13.8% held it in a family trust.
Wood burners and damp
A wood burner was a main heater in 16.8% of dwellings, above Auckland's 12.4%, and a fixed gas heater in 11%. 18.3% of homes were sometimes damp, against 15.8% nationally.
Cliffs and slips
The Hibiscus and Bays emergency plan lists landslides, coastal inundation and coastal erosion among local hazards, and recalls a 2011 rockfall near Rothesay Bay and cliff collapses in 2017 that damaged properties.
Fewer overflows planned
Watercare's new Mairangi Bay pump station and a pipeline to the Rosedale treatment plant are meant to add capacity and cut wet-weather overflows across the East Coast Bays. The old station overflowed at Mairangi Bay up to 10 times a year.
Stormwater on a cliff-top section
Watercare says rainwater that can't drain away on your property is normally yours to sort out, with a plumber or drainlayer's advice, while public drains and roads belong to Auckland Council (09 301 0101). On a section near a cliff or a steep bank, where your downpipes and soakage discharge is worth knowing.
Downpipes must run to the stormwater system, never the sewer: Watercare's customer contract bars unauthorised stormwater from its wastewater network.
A winter check for Torbay homes
- Gully trap raised above the ground, with its grate on.
- Gutters and downpipes clear, with water running to the stormwater, not pooling by the house.
- No new damp patches on walls or ceilings near the bathroom or cylinder.
- If the wood burner heats water through a wetback, the plumber is told before any cylinder work.
- Meter reading checked after a quiet night with no water used.
More pages
Nearby: Browns Bay, Albany, the North Shore and the Hibiscus Coast. Jobs: drainlayers, blocked drains, leak detection and hot water cylinders.
What we would do
If you live near the edge of a Torbay cliff or bank, get a drainlayer to confirm where your stormwater ends up. Water from a broken pipe or a disconnected downpipe soaking into a slope is the kind of problem that grows quietly. Most of what a homeowner can do is the winter check above. For the repair itself, we line you up with an authorised Torbay specialist in drainage or plumbing.