Final piece of new 15km-long Auckland watermain installed

The final section of a new 15km watermain serving hundreds of thousands in Auckland has been installed today, with the $115m project finished after six years.

Watercare completed the Huia 1 watermain this morning when crews lowered the final section of pipe into place in Blockhouse Bay.

It marked the end of the project traversing seven suburbs. The new pipeline, 91cm in diameter, runs from Titirangi reservoirs to Gillies Ave in Epsom, replacing an old pipe, dating back to the 1940s, that was nearing the end of its operational life.

The water main was expected to accommodate population growth and more housing, said the agency's water head, Sharon Danks.

"To start with, it will carry on average 30 million litres of water a day – water that originated in the western dams and we've treated at our Huia Water Treatment Plant. But we've future-proofed the Huia 1 pipeline to accommodate population growth," Danks said.

Capital delivery general manager Suzanne Lucas said the project would cost approximately $115 million – nearly $30 million less than the approved budget.

“We found efficiencies by involving our contractor in the planning and design of the later stages of the project, and by working closely with Auckland Transport to optimise our traffic management arrangements," she said.

The installation was conducted in stages throughout the suburbs, with sections already in service before today's completion.

"We recognise this project was disruptive to communities and commuters along the route, and we'd really like to thank everyone for their patience while we built this critical watermain," Lucas said.

The Huia 1 project is part of Watercare's recently announced 10-year plan, which allocates about half of the $13.8 billion investment planned for the next decade on projects that replace or upgrade existing infrastructure.