WATER

Wellington Water Infrastructure Renewals

Wellington Water / Greater Wellington RC · Wellington

Multi-year programme replacing Wellington's ageing pipe network, running since 2022. The region lost about 37% of its supply to leaks across 2025/26, and roughly a fifth of its pipes are in poor or very poor condition. Tiaki Wai inherited more than 6,800km of pipe and estimates about $25b over 30 years.

Favourable signals Data: Medium

Delivery Confidence Score, 0 to 100, higher is better: a ranking of how strong this project's delivery signals are, not a probability. It blends eight factors, including the election risk and policy alignment shown below.

Breakdown▾

Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.

Key facts

Region: Wellington
Sector: Water
Status: Under Construction
Estimated value: Value TBC
Indicative completion: 2030
Funding status: Part Funded
Lead organisation: Wellington Water / Greater Wellington RC
Election risk: Safe

Election risk assessment

Critical aging infrastructure replacement. Bipartisan support for water safety.

Government priority alignment

MEDIUM: Aligns with Local Water Done Well; locally led renewal of critical assets.

Chronology

2018Wellington Water identifies critical aging infrastructure across the network; pipe failure rate increasing
2020Major pipe failures cause city-wide boil water notices. Urgency recognised
2021January floods damage key infrastructure. Wellington Water plan expanded
2022Multi-year renewal programme begins; trunk main replacements start
2024Major work on Orongorongo trunk main and pump station renewals
2030expectedPhase 1 programme target: 30% network loss reduction goal

Source

Wellington Water ↗ · RNZ (Wellington water $25b/30yr, Tiaki Wai) ↗ · RNZ: Wellington's new water entity estimates $25b over 30 years ↗

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