We Say/You Say: Leaks
Kia ora Upper Hutt,
Have you had water supply cut off as a result of burst water mains? What other water problems are prevalent in your community?
Wellington residents are filing more than 50 complaints a day regarding the capital's ageing water infrastructure.
One leak near the Prime Minister's official residence in Tinakori Road has not been fixed since being first reported in September 2020.
Wellington Water spokesman Alex van Paassen says that some longer running leaks may not be showing up in data searches.
"Sometimes they get fixed but other nearby leaks are still going; sometimes the fix doesn't work, or a new leak pops up at the same place; sometimes they're private – private leaks can get into the neighbours at war territory," he said.
Van Paasen said that there were several reasons for the delayed fixes including Wellington Water's aging workforce, lack of skilled workers and an increase in work volume.
A presentation was delivered to Wellington City councillors in late-2020 showed that almost half of the cities pipes needed replacing, with $578 million needed to clear a variety of other accumulated issues.
Share your thoughts below and don't forget to type NFP if you don't want your comment featured in the Upper Hutt Leader.
Poll: Is the increase in disability parking fines fair?
In October, the fine for parking in a designated mobility car park without a permit has jumped from $150 to $750—a 400% increase!
The goal is to keep these spaces open for those who truly need them. Do you think this big increase in the fine is fair? Share your thoughts below.
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89.1% Yes, it's fair
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10.3% No, it's unreasonable
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0.7% Other - I'll share below
Smoke in Mt Wellington
Smoke has been seen coming from the crater of the Auckland maunga Mt Wellington.
Images of the smoke began appearing on social media on Friday afternoon.
Around 1.45pm, Fire and Emergency (Fenz) shift manager Josh Pennefather told the NZ Herald a crew was fighting a fire of about 60 square metres in size.
”It’s spreading up hill … [but] there’s no property at risk at this stage,” Pennefather said.
Six fire trucks were in attendance working to contain a grass fire that's spreading up the maunga.
A helicopter was on its way to assist firefighting efforts, he added.
At 2pm, Pennefather shared that the fire was contained and they were working to extinguish it, including “keeping an eye on a whole bunch of hot spots“.