Déjà vu: Wellington weathering a storm of broken water pipes

Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton (left) and Wellington Mayor Andy Foster assess the site of a broken water pipe in Wellington. Photo / Georgina Campbell

ANALYIS:

When Wellington's mayor got the news that poo was on the city's streets again, his reaction was "Oh! [insert four letter word]!".

Andy Foster didn't disclose his swear word of choice as he addressed media at the site of the capital's latest broken water pipe.

The pipe in question burst at the corner of Victoria and Mercer Sts the Monday of Wellington Anniversary Weekend.

It was the anniversary gift no one wanted to receive.

The rupture itself isn't very big, considering it is in a 300mm diameter cast iron pipe built in the early 1900s.

But the problem is that it's within a pressurised network meaning wastewater is literally being forced out of the hole.

When asked whether the situation felt like déjà vu, Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton replied: "I would have liked to have seen a nicer start to the year, but that's our job to fix these issues."

Wellington Water has had its hands full navigating major failures and near misses over the past year.

This isn't their first rodeo.

A water pipe broke at the corner of Victoria and Mercer Sts in Wellington on Monday. Photo / Georgina Campbell

Wellington Water and Foster have also come to understand the public sentiment around water pipes and were quick to hold a media briefing this time around, coupled with a steady flow of online communication.

It's a far cry from a mayor who felt missing in action this time last year.

At the press conference, Foster fielded questions about whether this failure was a result of underinvestment in infrastructure and what he was going to do about it.

The mayoral taskforce into three waters has already established a legacy of past underinvestment. Its report was made public late last year.

But even before that there has been a growing consensus around the council table to finally spend up on water pipes.

A rates increase might even be palatable if the public could be assured the money was ringfenced for water.

How much more will be spent? Foster indicated the budget would be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Unfortunately, things move slowly in Local Government. Very slowly in fact.

Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton. Photo / Mark Tantrum

The money has to be allocated through what's called the Long Term Plan (LTP).

This is the key planning tools for councils where they outline what they will do over the next 10 year period, why they are doing it, and how much it all costs.

These plans are reviewed every three years and are subject to extensive consultation.

It's an important process outlined in the Local Government Act. Wellington City Council's LTP will be finalised in the middle of this year.

Once the money is allocated, it will be used to move Wellington Water and the council from a reactive to a proactive approach to managing water.

After decades of underinvestment there is no quick fix for the pipes, but plans are being put in place.

Wellington Water and the council will remain in a sort of weird limbo until the fruits of investment start materialising.

Until then they'll simply have to weather whatever storm the pipes decide to bring.