Wellington City Council issues slip guide after calls triple

A large slip threatening houses on and above Woodhouse Avenue in Karori, Wellington, following days of heavy rain. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington City Council received 1143 calls reporting slips across the region throughout July and August – three times the amount of last year, and six times the amount of 2020.

It was a slip-heavy winter, with hundreds of incidents across the region.

The council said its contractors have worked tirelessly to repair all the damage, which has been hard work. In late August WCC chief infrastructure officer Siobhan Proctor told NZME the crews were getting “really, really tired”.

Between July and August this year, there were a whopping 1143 calls reporting slips across Pōneke! That’s over triple the number of calls from last year and over six times the amount from 2020! 👷#OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke pic.twitter.com/x5fLkc60Hv

— Wellington City Council (@WgtnCC) October 20, 2022

In order to help out the tired crews, WCC has put some important information up about how to identify a slip before it starts, who to call, and what to do.

If you see a slip and it’s causing immediate danger, or you can smell gas call 111 immediately. However, if the signs of a slip are present – such as the earth bulging, trees tilting, or new cracks in pavement or foundations, the best thing to do is call the WCC contact centre on 04 499 4444.

If a slip knocks out your power it’s up to your power provider to fix it – but if there are broken powerlines, then call the council.

If your water is out or the pipe is broken, use the WCC water and drainage map to find out where your main water shut off valve is and turn it off. This will stop damage in the short term.

When you’re reporting a slip make sure to say whether it’s on public or private land – public land is up to the council, but private land is the responsibility of the landowner.

Some sips may be partially the responsibility of both – in which case both parties must be involved in finding a solution if the slip occurs on council property on to private property or on private property on to council land.

It’s important to remember that large slips can be difficult and time-consuming to fix. They require geotech assessment, clearing and reviews of the slip face – there’s no simple fix for large-scale slips.