If you have a blocked drain on your property, please contact us before you contact a plumber:

Phone (09) 442 2222, press 1

See How to check for leaks.

If you see a burst pipe or other fault on public property, the quickest and easiest way to report it is via LiveChat or our bot. Look for the orange pop-up on the homepage of this website. If you'd prefer to report the fault over the phone, you can contact us on (09) 442 2222 option 1.

When to report a fault

If water is leaking before it enters your water meter (towards the road) it will not cause a high bill.

If the leak is within the meter box, it may cause a high bill. Our crews will do repairs and we may consider adjusting your account. If you believe this applies to you, phone (09) 442 2222, press 2.

If the leak is outside the meter box (towards your property) or within your private pipes or fittings, you will need to get a plumber to fix it. When it is fixed, you can apply for a leak allowance to help with the cost (conditions apply).

Financial assistance

If you don’t have funds readily available to pay for leak repairs, see Financial hardship.

Unfortunately not. Our contractors cannot repair the private network because of liability. Any registered plumber in your area can help with your private plumbing.

We generally do not reimburse any work done by a private plumber. For more details see the customer contract, section 4.1.

However, there are unique instances where we may reimburse a customer. This is on a case by case basis after our engineers have investigated.

Phone us on (09) 442 2222, press 2.

During an emergency water shutdown, crews may not have time to door-knock as they want to give all their attention to getting water restored as soon as possible. We understand that this can be inconvenient, but rest assured our crews are working as quickly as possible to restore your water supply.

For information and conditions, go to Apply for a leak allowance.

You can also apply online using MyAccount. Click ‘apply for leak allowance’ in the top bar.

We treat every fault with urgency, so prioritising faults is very important. Priority depends on the severity, location, health and safety, and the number of people affected. As a low-cost provider we aim to be efficient in the way we manage our field crew’s workload. The timeframe you want may not always be possible, but we will attend as soon as we can.

Landlords are responsible for fixing leaks on their property. Ask that they act quickly because you’re paying for the water. See Help for tenants.

The cost is around 56 cents, based on the cost of running a shower. We don’t give credits for flushing discoloured water.

A good first step is to contact a registered plumber. Most plumbers will check the usual areas such as taps and toilets, but may not be able to pinpoint an underground leak right away. A plumber will usually contact a service to help find the leak.

How to check for leaks

For help and advice see When to report a fault.

For advice, see How to check for leaks.

Or phone (09) 442 2222, press 1.

If you don’t have funds readily available to pay for leak repairs, you may seek help from Work and Income . Here's the contact details:

Work and Income

WINZ website or phone 0800 559 009

For planned work, we will give you five working days’ written notice and plan our work to minimise any inconvenience to you.

For unplanned work, we aim to respond within two hours and restore service within five hours. 

If any interruption to the water supply, planned or unplanned, exceeds five hours, we'll make sure you have access to clean water by providing bottled water or setting up a water tanker or water hydrant close to your property.

You should call a plumber for problems with pipes or other fittings on your side of the water meter. For details, see Who is responsible for pipes?

It is the property owner's responsibility to fix leaks and pay for any repairs.

If you don’t have funds readily available to pay for leak repairs, you may seek help from Work and Income, phone 0800 559 009.