Who looks after Nelson's water
Under the government's Local Water Done Well reforms, Nelson City Council chose an in-house business unit rather than a new water company. So the council is still the one to ask about the public network.
Its website wouldn't let us read its pipe and leak pages, and we won't guess at its rules. Before a drainlayer digs near the front boundary, ask Nelson City Council where its pipe ends and yours starts.
Nelson facts that shape a job
Among the sunniest places in the country
NIWA says around 2,400 hours of sunshine a year are typical along the coast near Tasman Bay, and Nelson is often one of New Zealand's four sunniest places. If you're thinking about solar hot water, that's the climate side; what a system would produce on your roof is a question for the installer.
Frost still arrives
Nelson averages 21 ground frosts and 11 air frosts in July, NIWA's figures show, though frosts here are less frequent than in most of the South Island. If a pipe splits in a cold snap, shut the water off at the toby before anything else: our burst pipes page covers what comes next.
Three homes in four use a heat pump
At the 2023 Census, 75.1% of Nelson homes heated with a heat pump, against 66.8% nationally. Wood burners sat near the national rate at 28.6%, and pellet fires at 1.7%.
More new homes
Stats NZ counts 271 new dwellings consented in the Nelson urban area in the year to March 2026, up from 196 the year before. New homes and additions mean new drains, connections and hot water to plan.
Look up the person, not the firm
The PGDB register works on a person's first and last name, not a business name. Search for whoever will actually do the work, and look for a tick or green in the far-right column: that's a current licence. Ask to see the licence card or the PGDB app on their phone too, and make sure it covers the trade, whether plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying.
If they work under supervision, ask who the supervisor is and check that name as well.
Around Nelson
Suburb pages: Stoke and Richmond. Regional page: Nelson Tasman. By job: hot water cylinders, heat pump hot water, leak detection and drainlayers.
What we would do
Ring Nelson City Council first if the problem might be near the street, and ask where its pipe stops. That one call tells you whether you need a tradie at all. If it's yours, write down what you've noticed, such as a hissing pipe, a wet patch or a cylinder that won't heat, and send it to us. We'll pass it to Nelson tradies who cover your area, and the authorised specialist who accepts it gets in touch.