Where your pipes start
On the water side, Watercare's job ends at the outlet of the meter fitting closest to your private pipe. Every pipe, fitting and device after that outlet is yours to maintain. Watercare owns all the meters, shared and subsidiary ones included.
Wastewater has its own line. When the public sewer runs inside your boundary, the split is the joint where your pipe meets Watercare's pipe or manhole. When the sewer is outside, your pipe hands over where it leaves your boundary, which may be on public land or a neighbour's.
On a cross-lease, Watercare ignores the lines between the flats and goes by the original title boundary. A manhole on private land is still Watercare's.
Who to ring in Auckland
- Leak between the meter and the house: a plumber.
- Leak in the meter or on the street side of it: Watercare, on (09) 442 2222, option 1.
- Wastewater overflowing on your section or public land, or spilling from any manhole: Watercare.
- A problem in your private drains: a plumber or drainlayer.
- Stormwater: Auckland Council.
- Not sure which pipes are yours: Watercare's option 4 on the same number.
Licences: ask to see the card
Auckland has no licence of its own. The PGDB licenses every plumber, gasfitter and drainlayer in New Zealand.
PGDB's own advice is to ask to see the person's New Zealand Practising Licence and check the expiry date. It can be a physical card or a digital one in the PGDB app. Then make sure it covers the trade, because plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying are licensed separately.
An Auckland gas case from October 2026
A repeat offender was fined $14,000 in the Auckland District Court for unauthorised gasfitting and sanitary plumbing. He had installed a gas water heater at a home, then handed the owner a Gas Safety Certificate he had no authority to issue. A certificate is only as good as the person who signs it.
Gas certificates and cylinder consent
Every gas job, once finished and connected, needs a Gas Safety Certificate from whoever connects it or their supervisor. Under the Building Act, the same paper is called an Energy Works Certificate.
Repairing an existing cylinder with comparable parts needs no building consent. Neither does replacing it, provided the new heater has, or connects to, a controlled heat source. Either way, the person doing it must be authorised.
What we would do in Auckland
Before you book anyone for a leak, find your water meter. If water is escaping between the meter and the house, it's a plumber's job and your bill. If it's at the meter or past it, ring Watercare and let them fix their side. For any gas work, look the gasfitter up on the register before they start, not after the certificate turns up.
Find your part of Auckland
Start at our Auckland page, or go straight to the North Shore, West Auckland, South Auckland, East Auckland or the Hibiscus Coast.
Send us the problem and your suburb. An Auckland tradie who specialises in it can pick the job up, and they're the only one who sees your contact details.