Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been used.  It's the used water and waste from our homes, commercial properties and industry.  Wastewater is commonly referred to as sewage.

We are responsible for 209km of sewage pipes; this includes the pipe up to your property boundary. 

Problems during heavy rain

During heavy rain your gully trap or toilet level may rise.  This happens because the sewer system is overloaded with stormwater from illegal connections or it's getting in from other sources. 

Try not to add to the problem until the levels drop.  Avoid unnecessary use - don't flush the toilet or put the dishwasher on, or use the bath or laundry.

Blocked drain on your property

A blocked drain or any leaks on your property is your responsibility to fix.   You need to contact your drainlayer to find the problem.

Our customer service centre has records of each service connection location.  They can provide this information to you on request. 

Blocked drain on council property

If you notice a leak on public property such as a footpath, road or park or you can smell a problem on any neighbouring property, please contact us as soon as possible. 

A new connection 

An application for building consent to build a new dwelling, on land that has been granted resource consent or subdivision consent in the city area, includes the new connection to the wastewater service. 

If approval for the subdivision or resource consent has not been granted, you need to talk to our duty Planner.

Maintenance of the wastewater system

Although our wastewater system has been designed to cope with 4 times the average flow, illegal stormwater connections into the system can cause the system to become overloaded during storms or heavy rain.

We encourage you to tell us about any illegal stormwater discharges into the wastewater system. You can contact our customer service centre anonymously.