Tiaki Wai, the council and your section
Tiaki Wai is the water organisation for Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua. Its owners are the four city councils plus Greater Wellington Regional Council. The old wellingtonwater.co.nz address now sends you to its site.
Report street leaks, low pressure, overflows and damaged public pipes to Tiaki Wai on 0800 TIAKI WAI (842 549). Anything on your side of the network is a job for your own tradie.
Tiaki Wai says council bylaws differ slightly across the region. What follows is for Wellington City. Lower Hutt, Porirua and Upper Hutt have their own rules on their pages.
Whose pipe is it in Wellington City?
| Who looks after it | Who to ring | |
|---|---|---|
| Wastewater lateral on your section | You, the owner | A plumber or drainlayer |
| Your lateral where it crosses a neighbour's land or a reserve | Still you, under Tiaki Wai's summary of the council's lateral policy | A plumber or drainlayer, after talking to the neighbour about access |
| Your lateral under a public road | Wellington City Council | Tiaki Wai, which takes fault reports |
| Road drains, sumps and kerbside channels | Wellington City Council | The council |
| Public mains and stormwater pipes | Tiaki Wai | Tiaki Wai, 0800 TIAKI WAI (842 549) |
No meter at the gate
Apart from a small number of properties, Wellington homes aren't metered. You pay for water through your rates, and no dial will show you a hidden leak.
So you look and listen instead. Tiaki Wai's checklist: every tap inside and out, the floor behind the dishwasher, damp strips in the lawn or driveway during dry weather, and the sound of running water when nothing is on.
Tiaki Wai is building a business case for smart meters, which would sit at the toby, and expects a full rollout to take five to seven years. It asks owners not to fit their own meter meanwhile.
Wellington facts that change a plumbing job
A long wait for water after a big quake
Tiaki Wai warns a strong earthquake could leave some suburbs without water for 100 days or more. Its advice is to keep 20 litres for each person for each of 7 days. WREMO adds that your cylinder is an emergency water source, so check it's well secured.
Soft water, older fittings
The region's water is soft, which dissolves metal a little more readily. Tiaki Wai calls the health risk negligible but suggests running off a mugful from the drinking tap each morning. Older fittings are the usual source, so ask your plumber about yours.
Plenty of small homes and tenants
At the 2023 Census, 14.1% of Wellington City dwellings had one bedroom, against 6.9% nationally. And 41.4% of households didn't own their home, against 34%. The lateral and the pipes are the owner's to fix, so tenants should tell the landlord early.
More damp than average
One in five Wellington City homes was sometimes damp at the 2023 Census, against 15.8% nationally. Damp has many causes, but a hidden leak is one worth ruling out.
Checking a Wellington tradie's licence
The council doesn't license tradies. The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) does, nationally, and each trade is separate. When someone arrives, ask to see their practising licence, whether it's a card or in the PGDB app, and check its expiry date and which trade it's for.
Then look them up on the PGDB public register by first and last name, as the Ask for Licensed campaign advises; it doesn't recognise business names. Look for a tick or green in the far-right column: that's a current licence. Lapsed holders are listed too. Unless they're certifying, ask who supervises them and check that name too. Our licence check guide goes step by step.
Wellington pages by job and by suburb
By job: hot water cylinders, blocked drains, drainlayers, gasfitting and emergency plumbers.
By suburb: Karori, Johnsonville, Khandallah, Tawa and Miramar. Further out: Petone, Wainuiomata, Whitby, the Kāpiti Coast, Waikanae and Ōtaki.
What we would do
Before anyone digs, work out where the fault is. If it's in the street, ring Tiaki Wai. If it's on your section, or on a neighbour's land along your own lateral, it's yours, so book a plumber or drainlayer and ask for camera footage showing the spot. With no meter to warn you, do Tiaki Wai's tap-and-listen check every few months. And whoever comes, look up their name on the PGDB register first. Tell us the job and an authorised Wellington tradie who handles that work can take it from there.