Published 27/06/2025
Repair works on wastewater valve on Wakefield Street to commence 30 June
Wellington Water on behalf of Wellington City Council is undertaking repair works on a wastewater pipe on Wakefield Street from Monday, 30 June to 4 July.
The works are expected to take five days to complete and involves isolating and repairing a faulty valve, installed in 1967, that is leaking.
“This valve was closed, for possibly the first time in decades, when we responded to an incident in April to stop wastewater being discharged into the harbour,” says Charles Barker, Chief Operating Officer. “It subsequently began to leak, most likely due to a combination of its age and lack of previous use.”
To repair the valve, wastewater needs to be diverted from the Oriental Parade rising main into Wakefield Street. This will involve a pipe being laid overground on the footpath at Waitangi Park, and sucker trucks operating for a 12-hour period, from 1am Wednesday, 2 July to 1pm Thursday, 3 July, at the pump station near the rotunda on Oriental Parade.
The sucker trucks will create some noise and disruption for nearby residents during this period. However, using the trucks minimises the risk of wastewater overflowing into the road or harbour while the repair work is carried out.
“Now that the Wakefield Street Rising Main project has been completed, which now allows us to divert wastewater to other parts of the network, we’re moving at pace to get these repairs done while our contractors are still on the ground. Taking this approach delivers efficiency and value for money and ultimately will result in less disruption to the public in the longer term,” says Charles.
“Being able to do this repair now, is an excellent example of the benefits of the wastewater renewal work we have been doing in the CBD over the past two years. Previously, if a repair of this nature had to be completed, there wouldn’t have been an alternative route to pump wastewater to. Instead, wastewater would’ve needed to be discharged into the environment or trucked to the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant at significant cost to the ratepayer.”
During the repair, the Wakefield Street slip lane will be temporarily closed from 9am on Monday, 30 June for the duration of the works.
Wellington Water has engaged with residents and businesses to notify them of the works and what to expect. Residents in the immediate area of Wakefield Street and Oriental Parade may experience some odour and noise.
Editor notes
More information on the Wakefield Street Rising Main is available on our website.
Records show the valve was installed in 1967 and was not known to Wellington Water prior to the Wakefield Street Rising Main project undertaking work in the area.
E N Ramsbottom are working with Wellington Water on this repair given they are already established on the site as part of the Wakefield Street Rising Main project and their knowledge of the valve and nearby connections.
The Wakefield Street Rising Main is part of a wider programme of wastewater renewal work in the Wellington CBD that involves constructing a new pressurised wastewater pipes along Wakefield Street and Taranaki Street. This builds in redundancy into the network and allows alternative routes for wastewater to flow to during planned and unplanned maintenance and repairs.
Standard hours of work will be 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with one period of overnight works from 1am Wednesday, 2 July to 1pm Thursday, 3 July.
The works are taking place near the Oriental Bay Dog Beach – the beach and harbour remain safe for walking/swimming dogs.
A map of the bypass pipe is below.
Aerial view of the Cable Street / Oriental Parade / Wakefield Street area. The overground bypass pipe is indicated in orange. The Wakefield Street slip lane is indicated in green.
Location of the pump station on Oriental Parade
About Wellington Water
Wellington Water is owned and fully funded by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, and Upper Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and South Wairarapa District Council. All six councils are equal shareholders.
Our councils own the water infrastructure in the region, and they task us to manage the infrastructure and deliver water services to our communities.
Wellington Water is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board and our organisation receive overall leadership and direction from the Wellington Water Committee, which are also responsible for appointing members to the Board.
The Wellington Water Committee is made up of representatives from our council owners and mana whenua.