Hokitika facts
Westland, not Grey
Stats NZ places Hokitika in Westland District. Westland's council runs the town's water treatment plant and its wastewater plant.
A lot of rain
NIWA gives Hokitika a normal of 2,732 mm of rain a year and 206 rain days.
Stormwater is pumped
Hokitika is Westland's only township with a significant stormwater network, helped by six pump stations. The Tancred St station was upgraded to cut surface flooding in the CBD, and a Livingstone St station is on the way.
Coal and wood heat
18.4% of Hokitika homes use a coal burner as a main heater, against 0.7% nationally, and 54.2% a wood burner.
Rain and your drains
If your gully trap overflows when it pours, ask a drainlayer to check where the downpipes go and whether the lateral is cracked or blocked. Our outside drains page explains what they look for.
Damp turns up too: 18.9% of Hokitika homes were sometimes damp at the census, against 15.8% nationally. A slow leak under the floor won't help, so it's worth ruling out.
The council's plants
The Hokitika wastewater plant discharges to the Tasman Sea. In mid-2026, West Coast Regional Council was finishing a short-term five-year consent for it while a new plant is designed for a new site.
None of that changes the work on your section. It's why a problem in the street goes to the council, while anything on your side goes to a drainlayer or plumber. The council hasn't published where its pipe ends, so ask before you dig.
What we would do
If a coal range or wood fire also heats your water, get the plumber and whoever services the fire talking before any cylinder work. A wetback cylinder swap skips consent only when the new one is comparable, open-vented, in the same place and on the same pipes. Before a wet week, clear leaves off the gully grate. And ring Westland District Council about the boundary before anyone digs.
See also Greymouth and the West Coast region page. Send us the Hokitika job and a tradie who does that work can accept it. Only that tradie sees your contact details.