Water where it should not be is confusing enough without spending an afternoon being transferred between call centres. In Auckland there are three organisations who might be responsible, and which one it is depends on what the water is and exactly where it is coming from.
Here is how to work that out before you pick up the phone.
The one rule that decides most of it
The boundary is your water meter. Everything on the street side of it, including the meter itself, belongs to Watercare. Everything from the meter to your house belongs to you, even if the wet patch is out near the footpath.
The pipe leaving the meter toward the house is the property owner’s, from another job.
Is it actually a leak?
Not every wet patch is a broken pipe, and this is where most people start in the wrong place.
Groundwater is water that is naturally in the soil. After sustained rain the ground can be saturated enough that it surfaces, usually in low spots, driveways and around meter boxes. It looks like a still, stagnant pool and it disappears as the ground dries. Nobody needs to be called.
Stormwater is rain running off hard surfaces into the council network. Puddles on a driveway or footpath in the days after rain are almost always this. For ordinary puddles, no call is needed. For significant flooding, that is Auckland Council on 09 301 0101, not Watercare.
A water leak is a crack or burst in a pressurised pipe. The giveaway is a wet patch that appears when it has not rained, or one that never dries out, often with water actively seeping rather than sitting. Confirm it at the meter before assuming.
We went to a property in Greenhithe where the ground was wet in several places and everyone assumed a leak. The meter was not moving at all. It was rainwater running down the slope and pooling, and the answer was drainage rather than a plumber chasing a pipe.
Wet patch on your property, meter moving
That is yours, and it is a plumber’s job. The pipe between the meter and the house is the property owner’s to maintain and repair.
This is also the one where the cost of the water matters. An underground leak can run for months before anyone notices, and Watercare has a leak allowance that can credit part of the excess back once it is repaired and documented. How that works.
If the water is on your side but you cannot tell where, wet ground and underground leaks covers what happens next and when replacing the pipe beats chasing it.
Water on the road, footpath or berm
Report it to Watercare on 09 442 2222. You do not need to know whose it is, and there is no cost to you for reporting it.
Worth doing even if it is not outside your house. A main leaking under a road can run for a long time before anybody bothers to report it.
Sewage or foul water overflowing
This is the serious one and it goes straight to Watercare on 09 442 2222, before you call anyone else.
If you see dirty, foul smelling water or solids coming up out of a manhole, a gully trap or across the ground, treat it as a health issue. Keep children and pets away from it and do not hose it into a stormwater drain.
Watercare will attend and determine whether the blockage is in the public sewer main or on your private drainage line. If it is theirs, they clear it. If it turns out to be on your property, they will tell you, and that is the point where you call a plumber.
That split catches people out on shared driveways in particular, where several properties run into one private line before it reaches the public main. We attended exactly that on a West Harbour driveway, where the chamber serving several houses had broken.
Quick reference
| What you can see | Who to call |
|---|---|
| Puddle after rain, disappears as it dries | Nobody. Groundwater or stormwater |
| Serious surface flooding from rainwater | Auckland Council, 09 301 0101 |
| Water on the road, footpath or berm | Watercare, 09 442 2222 |
| Meter turning, wet patch on your property | A plumber. It is your pipe |
| No wet patch, but the bill has jumped | Do the meter check, then a plumber |
| Sewage overflowing anywhere | Watercare first, 09 442 2222 |
| Blocked drain inside the boundary, no overflow | A plumber |
| Water coming through a ceiling or wall | A plumber |
What if I am not sure?
Do the one minute meter check first. It costs nothing and it answers the only question that actually splits the responsibility.
If you are still not sure after that, send us a photo of what you are looking at. We would rather tell you it is Watercare’s and cost ourselves a callout than have you pay us to confirm something you could have had done free.
Common questions
Will Watercare charge me if it turns out to be my pipe?
For attending and confirming, generally not, but they will not repair anything on your side of the meter. What they do is establish whose it is and then leave your side to you. That is why the meter test is worth doing first: if you already know it is yours, you can save a step and ring a plumber.
The leak is under the footpath, so surely it is council?
Not necessarily, and this trips a lot of people up. Ownership follows the meter, not the fence line or the kerb. Plenty of Auckland properties have their meter set back from the street, which means a length of your pipe runs under public ground and is still yours to repair. Where the meter sits is the question, not where the water is.
Who is responsible for the drains, as opposed to the water supply?
Roughly the same logic in reverse. The public wastewater main is Watercare’s, and the private lateral running from your house to it is yours. Stormwater pipes in the street are Auckland Council’s, and the ones on your property are yours. Shared private lines serving several dwellings are shared between those owners, which is worth knowing before a bill arrives.
It is a rental. Who does the tenant call?
For a tenant, the first point of contact should be the property manager or landlord. If water is running and causing damage, stop the water at the meter box if necessary to prevent further damage, then contact the property manager immediately, because that is an urgent repair under the tenancy rules. Tenants do not need to arrange a plumber themselves.
How long does Watercare take to come out?
Genuine leaks and overflows are treated as faults and attended reasonably promptly, with overflows prioritised. If water is actively running to waste on the street, say so when you report it. If you have a burst on your own side and cannot wait, that is a plumber, not Watercare, and we run same day attendance across Auckland.
Related reading
- Brown water from the tap: what it is and what to do first
- The gully trap is overflowing: what that actually means
- The one minute meter check, step by step
- Water leaks in Auckland homes: the full guide
- Where is my water meter box, and what if the valve will not turn?
- The ground is wet and nobody knows why: underground leaks
- Your water bill has doubled: is it a leak, and can you claim it back?
- West Harbour: a sewer overflow on a shared driveway
- Blocked drains in Auckland
Establishing which side of the boundary the leak is on decides who pays, and that is the first thing our leak detection service settles. Call 021 837 775.