Wellington Water crews are back on the scene of a major pipe failure in central Wellington this morning — with supply expected to be gradually restored in the coming hours.
The pipe burst early Wednesday morning, with the central Wellington areas of Kent and Cambridge Terraces, Courtney Place, Pirie St, Brougham St and parts of Hataitai and Roseneath affected by low or no water.
Water supply was shut down to many residents and businesses in the area during the day, while Wellington Water expected normal service to be restored around midnight.
Wellington Water said late last night crews had completed the repair and full pressure would be "gradually restored over the next few hours".
"To make the area safe overnight, it will be backfilled and fenced off and traffic management will remain in place until morning — but we will work to keep any disruption to traffic to a minimum," it said in a statement.
It said crews would be back onsite Friday morning to complete final work and that a full reinstatement of supply would follow.
"If your water supply was affected by the repair, please run a cold tap for a few minutes to clear any air or cloudy water from your pipes before using dishwashers, washing machines or hot water."
Residents discuss high frequency of leaks in Wellington
One cyclist told RNZ she became stuck in silt from the flooding on her way to work.
"I didn't see the sign, there was no sign to see it and I just thought I was going left instead of straight ahead.
"Fortunately there was someone there to help me get out of it and they were very helpful."
One Wellington man told RNZ he was unfazed by the major pipe burst because of how frequently such incidents happened.
A worker in the area, named Sheridan, said there had been a whole bunch of leaks around the Kent Terrace area.
"One towards the lights there, one on Vivian St that was leaking for many many months and now this one.
"I mean it's no surprise really, it's been going on for awhile especially with the closing of the turning bays and everything, so every change just keeps making it worse," Sheridan said.
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