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Water infrastructure upgrades start in Waitara and New Plymouth

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PUBLISHED: 7 JAN 2026
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NPDC kicks off the New Year with two big water infrastructure projects in the district.

Work got underway on Monday to replace a collapsed stormwater pipe that runs beneath the railway line next to Autere East End Reserve, while a project to relocate West Quay wastewater pump station from beside the Waitara River is due to start on 23 January.

NPDC Manager Three Waters Amy Quattlebaum says the damaged stormwater pipe on Autere Street, New Plymouth was discovered during routine inspections.

“We can see from photos that the pipe, which is meant to be circular, is more like a crushed and broken oval under the railway line. It’s in too bad a shape to repair so we’ll be laying a new 35m pipe to replace it – which we can do without affecting rail traffic,” she says.

The cause of the damage isn’t known but the concrete pipe is more than 50 years old.

At the railway line, the pipe will be bored underground so that there is no disturbance to the surface, while the rest of the work will be done by open-trench. A section of lawn at Autere East End Reserve will be closed off during the works period for public safety.

“Once the new pipe is in, this residential area will be less likely to flood during heavy rainfall,” says Amy.

The $990,000 stormwater pipe replacement will take 10 weeks to finish (weather dependent).

Meanwhile, NPDC Project Delivery Manager Sean Cressy says the West Quay pump station is a critical part of Waitara’s sewer system.

“The aim is to ensure that the pump station keeps working as needed during heavy rainfall. By relocating it to the town-side of the stop bank, we’ll protect it from flooding from the Waitara River,” he says.

“We’re also adding emergency storage so that it can handle higher flows during heavy rainfall.”

The work will require a new pipe along the southern section of West Quay, which will affect on-street parking during construction. West Quay will be closed near the Warre Street intersection for about eight weeks until mid-March but businesses along this road will remain open as usual.

The $2m project will be finished by the end of May (weather depending).

Both projects are part of NPDC’s investment of $289m over 10 years to 2034 to fix the district’s plumbing.

At a glance:

  • On average, NPDC handles 25 million litres of wastewater each day, looking after more than 37,200 properties in the district.
  • NPDC manages 34 pump stations as part of the district’s wastewater infrastructure.
  • NPDC collects, manages and disposes of stormwater run-off from around 6,600ha of urban area in the district, from Urenui to Okato.
  • The stormwater reticulation system includes four flood protection dams, two diversion tunnels, several wetlands, 284km of pipes and nearly 5,000 manholes.

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Page last updated: 10:56am Wed 07 January 2026

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