Who runs Taranaki's water
New Plymouth: New Plymouth District Council chose a water company, Wai Hononga Water Services Limited, for drinking water and wastewater. Wai Hononga is due to take full operational responsibility on 1 July 2027. NPDC delivers until then, and keeps stormwater in-house afterwards.
Hāwera: South Taranaki District Council runs water in-house.
Stratford: Stratford District Council uses its own in-house business unit, called Stratford Waters.
New Plymouth: who fixes what
- NPDC maintains the mains and the pipes up to your boundary, including the toby or manifold.
- The pipes from the toby to the house belong to the owner.
- A leak on the property side of the meter or toby is yours. On the road side, it's NPDC's.
- A blocked or leaking private drain on your section: get a plumber.
- Sewage leaking, a lifted or damaged manhole lid, or a strong sewage smell: ring NPDC on 06 759 6060.
Hāwera and Stratford pipes
Neither council's pipe rules could be read when we checked. Ask South Taranaki or Stratford District Council where their pipe stops before a drainlayer starts digging.
Gas, LPG and your water heater
Rheem notes that where there's no piped natural gas, a gas water heater can run on bottled LPG. The bottle doesn't make it a DIY job. PGDB says homeowners can't install, alter or repair gas appliances, including ones fed by gas bottles of any size.
Gas suppliers may ask to see a gas certificate before they supply gas or refill LPG bottles, so keep yours somewhere safe.
What the PGDB register tells you
You can search the register by name, or by town, city or postcode. It shows the person's registration and licence history, any conditions on their licence, who supervises them, and any Board disciplinary decisions from the last 3 years.
Moving or replacing a water heater needs no building consent when the new one is connected to a controlled heat source, or has one built in, and an authorised person does the work.
What we would do in Taranaki
If you're in New Plymouth, find your toby before you ring anyone. A leak between it and the house is a plumber's job. Water escaping on the road side, or a lifted manhole lid, goes to NPDC. In Hāwera or Stratford, ask the council first where its responsibility ends, then book the tradie.
Tell us the problem and the town. A Taranaki tradie who specialises in it can take the job, and nobody else sees your contact details.