Burst pipe cuts water supply to several central Wellington streets

Several central Wellington streets are expected to be without water for hours due to a burst water pipe and traffic is backing up around the inner city.

In a social media post, Wellington Water confirmed it had cut the water supply to several streets in central Wellington after a drinking water pipe burst at the intersection of Jervois Quay and Hunter St about 7am on Tuesday.

The outage is affecting Jervois Quay, Williston St, Victoria St, Hunter St and Post Office Square.

Wellington Water said it expected the outage would continue for up to six hours.

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“Crews are working hard to excavate the pipe to repair it but unfortunately this is going to take longer than expected. We now expect water to be back on around 1pm today,” Wellington Water said on Twitter.

Staff were working to clear “a fair amount” of debris in the area caused by the leak.

Traffic management was on site and people were urged to expect delays in the area.

Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said congestion along Jervois Quay was inevitable as crews worked to fix the pipe and it could have a “ripple effect” on key arterial routes.

Motorists could take the motorway to avoid the waterfront congestion, he said.

This week, Wellington Water fixed 220 leaks on the public drinking water network – or an average of 41 leaks per working day.

Since March 8, 3035 confirmed leaks have been identified by Wellington Water.