Project Overview

In May 2024 we began work on an existing watermain in Point Howard, Lower Hutt. The existing water mains, made from reinforced concrete, had experienced multiple failures and were at the end of their serviceable life. This work was critical due to the pipeline being susceptible to catastrophic failure in a significant earthquake event. We were tasked with building a new main with high seismic resistance.

Key Challenges

This was a complex site composed of steep inclines and drop offs, narrow and winding with hairpin bends, plus limited access for plant and vehicles. Things were further complicated by the fact that there was no way to detour traffic arund the site works. Our team closely collaborated with the engineers and Wellington Water at the design stage which allowed us time to pothole the site and use ground penetraing radar to find the best alignment for the pipeline navigating through a complexity of existing services and retaining wall foundations.

To minimise the risk of accidentally striking underground services we decided it was preferable to use traditional open trenching methods. But the team kept an eye out for opportunities to speed up the build and found one section that could be drilled horizontally. the opportunity to drill and build trenchlessley meant we didn’t need to fully close the road during work hours. A huge win.

We carried out pre-construction and mid-construction destructive testing of the poly-ethylene pipe welds, which is part of our quality plan. Thanks to these hish qiality standards and our management systems we identified some issues with the EF welds and were quickly able to rectify the issue minimising any future delays and rework. Our proactive remedial actions received positive feedback from stakeholders and the client praising our professionalism and high standards.

Feedback Helps Us Improve – Good and Bad and Constructive.

Staff were very cordial and helpful to us residents – especially the two ladies, Carmene and Ivy. Seems to be a lot of re-work, drilling/digging & refilling same holes several times. CCL have been very good, we appreciate the work undertaken to fix all the numerous leaks that were previously along our street.  Duration was a bit ‘wilting’ to the brains.  Thank you very much all.

• residents M & M

Appreciate the mahi and the long hours the team put in, particularly with address the 5+ year leak at 34 Howard Rd.  Commendation the to team who noticed a young woman in distress and checked in with her.  The level of EQ shown by the team is commendable and the escalation of the situation to the PHA was much appreciated. A ‘Resident Access Only’ sign on the section between 16-74 Howard Road would have alleviated a lot of frustration by residents not receiving deliveries etc as the ‘Road Closed’ and ‘No Entry’ signs put off couriers etc.The team are incredibly conscientious and cognizant of the disturbance to residents.  They have always been polite, cheerful and go above and beyond to help out residents.

• resident A

Multiple water network shutdowns were undertaken which are always stressful for residents and businesses. We worked closely with the local residents association who were instrumental in helping us to open and build great communication lines with the locals which in turn helped this challenging project to be successful. The site team got to know many of the locals very well during their time on site and the residents showed their appreciation with a bounty of baked goods, coffees and sandwiches which went a long way to keeping their spirits high and their bodies fuelled.

It was very much appreciated. The project achieved such a great outcome that prior to leaving site the CCL team, client and stakeholders got together with the residents for a community BBQ.

The upgrade and renewal of Point Howard’s watermain will improve the future reliability and reslilience of this community’s water supply. What a great community they are! We are proud to have delivered such a valuable outcome to the highest health, safety, environmental and quality standards.