Hutt Valley Regional Pressure Management Project
On behalf of the Hutt City and Upper Hutt City councils, we are working to manage pressure in the regional drinking water network to improve performance and water efficiency.
If you have any questions about this work, please contact:
Wellington Water, 04 912 4400
Latest Updates
We successfully completed pressure management testing in the Eastern Hills area - Rata and Sunville, on May 29. Thank you for your patience, these works will help inform future network upgrades and long-term operations in the area and provide valuable insights into the network’s long-term resilience.
In February 2025, Wellington Water started work on the Kamahi Street Pressure Control Valve (PCV) Installation. This will improve the pressure of drinking water for properties at the Upper end of Kamahi Street. Please see the background section for full details.
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Wellington Water recently completed the installation of pressure loggers at fire hydrant locations across Lower Hutt.
During May 2024, pressure reducing valves were installed to support management of the Wise Street water pipe in Wainuiomata.
Wellington Road:
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Pressure Reducing Chambers installed in Wellington Road with 2 cut ins completed out of the 4.
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Rider main across the road is getting installed.
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Asphalt reinstatement is getting done for one side of the road.
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We will switch the Traffic Management set up from West to east next week.
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During June a rider main will be installed across the road and complete the remaining 2 cut ins.
Wise street:
Chambers and pipework are all installed with our main shutdown planned for the week of 3 June. Followed by backfilling, commissioning and reinstatement works.
Gemstone drive:
Investigations started in June 2024.
Hine and Main Road:
Investigations have been completed.
Pressure Management
One of the ways Wellington Water can reduce water loss is to reduce pipe network pressures in areas that currently have high water pressure. Pressure Management is usually done by installing pressure reducing valves to locally reduce the pressure within certain areas of the network. Reduced network pressures have several benefits including:
- Reducing the volume of water lost through leaks in pipes.
- Extending the asset life of the pipes
- Reducing the number of pipe burst occurring.
Pressure Management is widely used internationally and throughout New Zealand. The scope of the project involves establishing new Hutt City Council pressure management zones, based on predicted Water loss savings.
The project will provide higher pressures without the risk of pipe bursts and making the water service more reliable and efficient.
The consultant and contractor project team are Connect Water and Fulton Hogan Ltd.
Kamahi Street, Stokes Valley
The Kamahi Street Pressure Control Valve (PCV) Installation is a programme of work that aims to improve the pressure of drinking water at the point of supply for properties at the upper end of Kamahi Street, which currently have pressure below the level of service required.
The project will rezone properties to change the pressure to between 25m and 90m as per the Regional Standard for Water Services.
The purpose is to create a new pressure zone on Kamahi Street to:
- Provide pressure in line with the Regional Standard for Water Services
- Protect the ageing pipes from high pressures by installing a pressure control valve
- Provide capacity for future growth
Wellington Water has identified properties at the end of Kamahi Street that have water pressure below the required level of service, which impacts public health. Approximately 35 properties between 42-78 and 65-115 Kamahi Street, Stokes Valley are affected.
The Stokes Valley water network is supplied predominantly by the Delaney Reservoir with supplement supply from the Kingsley Reservoir and Kamahi Reservoir. The Water Network Plan indicates that Kamahi Street is supplied by two reservoirs, the Kamahi Street and Delaney Reservoir.
The properties with pressure below 25m are supplied by Delaney Reservoir, 42-78 and 65-115, and the properties with high pressures, above 90m, are supplied directly by the Kamahi Reservoir, 84-126 and 117-154. The properties currently supplied directly from the Kamahi Street Reservoir will not be included in this project and the pressure will remain as is.
The proposed work will connect the properties supplied by the Delaney reservoir to the nearby Kamahi reservoir supply, which will be able to supply water at a higher pressure. Many of the pipes in Kamahi Street are old AC or galvanised iron pipes that are beyond their economic life and may be damaged by higher pressure if connected to the Kamahi Zone. Pipes already subjected to the higher pressures (Supplied from Kamahi Street Reservoir) , will not be affected by this project .
To address this, it is proposed to connect the properties with low pressure to the Kamahi Zone, and installing a pressure control valve (PCV) which will ensure pressures are between 25m and 90m for residents.
The project objectives are:
- Provide higher water pressure between 25m and 90m using a pressure control valve to low pressure properties
- Ensure customers have access to reliable water services
- Identify risks early to enable transparency and for appropriate controls and risk mitigations to be put in place.
- Create a new pressure zone
- Protect old AC and galvanised pipes.