Tiaki Wai and your lateral
Five councils own Tiaki Wai: Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City and Greater Wellington Regional Council. It covers drinking water, wastewater and stormwater, and the old Wellington Water web address now redirects to it.
Your wastewater lateral, the pipe from the house to the public network, is yours to maintain. If inspections turn up faults in a private drain, Tiaki Wai asks the owner to fix them.
Tiaki Wai says council bylaws differ slightly across the region, so ask it where its pipe ends at your address. Roof downpipes must drain to stormwater, never into the sewer.
Report network faults, such as leaks, low pressure, overflows or damaged pipes, to Tiaki Wai on 0800 TIAKI WAI (842 549).
Upper Hutt's toby rule
Upper Hutt is the one place here with a confirmed water rule. The toby, on or near the street boundary, is the point of service, and the owner is responsible for all the water plumbing after it.
Kāpiti Coast: open the inspection point first
Kāpiti isn't part of Tiaki Wai. Its council decided on 27 May 2025 to keep drinking water, wastewater and stormwater in-house.
For a blocked drain, the plumber or drain clearer first exposes the inspection point on the boundary. A blockage at that point or on the house side is cleared at the owner's cost.
A blockage downstream of it is the council's, and the drain clearer must call the council. If that procedure isn't followed, the owner pays the drain clearer.
Masterton and the Wairarapa
Waitī Waters, covering Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa and Tararua, is planned to be running on or before 1 July 2027. We couldn't confirm who runs the network day to day until then, so ask Masterton District Council who to ring about a fault in Masterton or Carterton.
Knowingly paying for unlicensed work
Homeowners can be prosecuted too, but only for knowingly permitting or paying an unauthorised person. The fine is up to $10,000 for plumbing or drainlaying, and up to $50,000 for an individual who knowingly pays for unauthorised gasfitting.
Checking the person on the PGDB register before work starts is the simple way to stay clear of that.
High-risk gas work and cylinder consent
Adding to or altering an existing gas installation is high-risk work. It needs a certificate of compliance, and the job must be logged on the Electricity and Gas High-risk Database within 20 working days of that certificate being issued.
A hot water cylinder replacement is consent-exempt when the new heater is fed by, or contains, a controlled heat source. A council can also decide a particular job needs no consent if it's likely to comply with the Building Code.
What we would do around Wellington
On the Kāpiti Coast, make sure the drain clearer opens the boundary inspection point before clearing anything, and follows the council's procedure if the blockage is downstream. In the Tiaki Wai cities, report a fault in the street to Tiaki Wai, but book your own plumber or drainlayer for the lateral, because that pipe is yours.
Tell us the job and the suburb. A Wellington-region tradie who specialises in it can take it. Start at Wellington, or go to Lower Hutt, Porirua or the Kāpiti Coast.