Water spills out onto the footpath, before heading down onto the road and into the turning lane. Photo: RYAN ANDERSON / STUFF
By Ryan Anderson of Stuff
Wellington locals are alarmed at a leak that is pumping out water at an extreme rate - with repairs still days away.
A leak in the slipway between Kent and Cambridge Terrace began on 30 April.
Forty four days later, water continues to cascade out onto the surrounding streets, with water pooling to above foot height in the closest lane.
Sections of the water cover large potholes, that cars hit as they head into a turning lane.
In the fifteen minutes Stuff was on Kent Terrace, seven people stopped to complain about the ongoing problem.
One said they'd thought about buying rubber ducks to race down the waterway.
Two large potholes are hidden by the water. Photo: RYAN ANDERSON / STUFF
Local Tua Wilson lives a couple blocks away from the leak, but said he was surprised each time he walked past to work that it had not been repaired.
He said he saw trades people looking at it every now and then and thought the next day he would come back to see it done.
"Most of the time it's flowing pretty bad."
During rush hour he'd seen a couple cars hit the pot holes, but none had been damaged too badly, he said.
"Luckily."
On her way to University, Larissa Dent says she always gets worried herself or someone else walking past might get splashed.
"It's not nice to see, especially after [it's been leaking] so long."
Wellington Water said the leak was originally deemed medium priority when it was first assessed, but was escalated due to its worsening condition.
A repair wasn't able to be done due to its complexity, traffic management and safety concerns, they said.
They were unable to give an estimation of how much water had been lost.
"Ensuring we minimise the impact to residents and businesses in the area also meant that this work couldn't be carried out during the week."
Repair work should be done on Sunday 16 June, they said.
A contractor had been arranged to sweep the road to ensure the safety of motorists and cyclists, they said.
Images sent to Stuff on Wednesday morning showed workers sweeping the path near the leak.
Mayor Tory Whanau said she expected Wellington Water to be doing everything possible to clear the back log of leaks.
"For example, Wellington Water Ltd could be engaging local plumbers to help fix minor leaks and clear the back log faster."
Extra funding injected into repairs took a while to show results, but looked to be paying off now, she said, with the back log of leaks going from 3100 in January to 2300 in May.
"But we know there are still way too many leaks around the city."
A further $3.3 million in funding was set down in early June, in order to clear the back log of leaks before next summer, she said.