Running battle to get leak fixed

North Shore City Council is under fire over a water pipe in Takapuna that leaked for more than two months.

Takapuna Community Board chairman Martin Lawes says it is a classic example of the incompetence of council contractors.

At issue was potable water leaking from a water main near the corner of Killarney St and The Promenade.

"The leak has been running continuously since November. In case officers are not aware it is now February," an exasperated Mr Lawes says.

"The wastage is staggering and the council in the current year increased water charges to ratepayers by more than 7 percent and from July they will be burdened by a further 11-plus percent increase."

He says the council must attend to urgent repairs to avoid wastage and "charge the incompetent contractor".

Mr Lawes says the fault was first reported to the council on November 26 and it was unbelievable to see the leak running for more than two months.

He says the leak was plugged only on Tuesday last week after he brought the issue to the North Shore Times’ attention.

Council water supply operations manager Shi-See Tan says the problem was not diagnosed properly the first time it was reported.

It was only on February 5 the contractor investigated the pipes with a leak detection device and found the cause of the problem – the electrofusion coupling for a 300mm main had failed.

"I appreciate that there was an issue for some time before it was able to be identified. As a result of this, the council and contractor are working together to improve the way we assess leaks and better identify the source of the problem earlier in the process," she says.

"There is also an issue with the way we identify and record the physical location of a reported problem so that these connections become clearer."

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