The council's pipes and yours
| Who owns it | If it fails | |
|---|---|---|
| Main sewer pipes | Whangārei District Council, even where they cross private land | The council maintains them. |
| Connection pipe on public land | The council, from the main to the inspection point at the boundary | The council's to repair. |
| Connection pipe on your land | You, from the house to that inspection point | Yours to repair and pay for, by a licensed tradie. |
Drainlaying in Whangārei: what's local
Don't build over the pipes
As a rule, the council doesn't permit building over or close to wastewater or stormwater drainage pipes. Where it can't be avoided and conditions are met, it may allow it, so raise it before an extension is designed.
Limited capacity in places
The council is carefully managing wastewater capacity in Ruakākā and parts of Whangārei Heads, and asks people there to check with it before applying for a resource or building consent.
Downpipes out of gully traps
Low-lying gully traps and roof downpipes are the main ways stormwater gets into Whangārei's sewers. Spouting should never be plumbed into a gully trap, and the council smoke-tests its network to find where it is.
Pressure sewers on some sections
Some properties pump their wastewater through a pressure sewer unit. For council-vested units, the owner maintains the drain from the house to the pump and keeps it powered, and the council looks after the rest.
Connecting a new drain to the council's network
Ask the council first
Before work starts, confirm the property can connect, that a connection point reaches the boundary, and that there's capacity. Get it in writing.
Consent or Public Utility application
If a stub connection already runs from the main to the boundary, connecting to it needs building consent. If there's none, a Public Utility application must be approved first, naming your contractor.
Inspection before back-filling
Book the council's inspection at least 48 hours before the new drainage is covered over.
As-built plans
Within one month of the system being commissioned, the council needs final as-built plans of what was laid.
Two kinds of approval, plus a PGDB licence
The council approves two types of contractor for its sewer and stormwater systems. A registered contractor can work on internal connections for public assets in subdivisions but can't connect to or maintain live mains. A licensed contractor can do all of that and work on live mains, including the connection to the public system. That council approval sits alongside the PGDB licence that anyone laying, repairing or renewing a drain needs for drainlaying.
Repairing a drain with comparable materials, or swapping a length for a comparable one in the same place, needs no building consent when an authorised person does it, though it must meet the Building Code. A new connection to a council service isn't covered by that exemption.
Find the pipes before anyone digs
The council's online property maps include an Assets map showing water, sewer and stormwater pipes. For more detail, an as-built plan of a property's service connections can take up to 10 working days, and if you need a council watermain located on site, allow at least 5 working days. Its contact centre answers at any hour on 09 430 4200 or 0800 932 463.
What we would do
Look your section up on the council's Assets map before planning an extension, a new drain or a second home, and ring the council if a public pipe runs anywhere near the work. If you're in Ruakākā or Whangārei Heads, ask about sewer capacity before you lodge a consent. Then choose a drainlayer who can show both their PGDB licence and, for a council connection, the right council approval.