Rotorua water leaks: Upset locals wait for city repairs

Water is “gushing” onto some Rotorua streets - sparking concern from locals waiting for the council to fix the leaks.

One resident says there was “a hell of a lot of water” damaging the grass, while a business owner says maintenance is “everything” and expected the council to provide timely upkeep on its facilities.

Rotorua Lakes Council said the leaks in question were currently being repaired or would be repaired this week, as wet weather and staff resourcing challenges had contributed to repair delays.

Rotorua resident Alan Scicluna, who lives on Park Rd in Western Heights, said there were four water leaks at neighbouring properties.

Scicluna said he noticed the first two water leaks in March and reported them to the council.

“But it’s still leaking.”

Three weeks ago, he noticed “gushing” water outside a second property on his road.

He said there was “a hell of a lot” of water, which was damaging the grass.

“If we have to pay the water rates and we have to save water, what’s this doing to us?

Water leaks on Park Rd in Western Heights. Photo / Andrew Warner

“It just irritates me. If I have to go out for a walk ... that’s what I see.

“There’s the park opposite us and there’s a lot of kids going to play in the park. Now, is that good hygiene for them to go through that gushing water to go to the park?”

Hennessey’s Bar owner Reg Hennessey said there had been water leaks in front of his business on Tutanekai St and in the carpark behind it.

“There’s been water leaks up and down the streets for a long time now, off and on ... some do get fixed, to be fair, but it takes far too long I would’ve thought.

“Maintenance is everything - we spend a lot of money on maintenance and time and effort on our personal business, like I’m sure so many other business owners do, so our council facilities around us, we would expect the same sort of support, I guess.”

Rotorua Lakes Council deputy chief executive of infrastructure and environmental solutions Stavros Michael said once a water leak was reported to the council, it was passed to contractor Infracore, which inspected the issue and prioritised and scheduled the repair work.

Michael confirmed the council had received 11 separate reports of leaks relating to six different faults on Park Rd this year.

Water leak on Tutanekai street near Hennesseys. 16 May 2023 The Daily Post Photo / Andrew Warner

One leak was inspected on May 11 and was determined to be coming from the homeowner’s private pipework. The resident was advised to engage a plumber to repair the leak, he said.

Another leak was reported on April 13 and was expected to be repaired this week, he said.

“This timeframe is longer than we would like and expect, however, these types of jobs are often delayed due to weather, subcontractor availability and the occurrence of more urgent jobs that are resource-heavy.”

Michael said wet weather and staff resourcing challenges contributed to delays this year.

The council worked with contractors to monitor and minimise the effects of these issues on levels of service “as much as possible”, he said.

Michael confirmed repair work for a leak at the rear of Hennessy’s Bar was completed “some time ago” and the leak in the cobbles in front of it was currently being repaired.