Aro Street in central Wellington was mopping up today after spectacular scenes of a huge water main burst yesterday.
It sent water gushing down the road and a huge geyser of water 10 to 20 metres into the air.
Today was a case of business as usual for locals. But the question on their mind was will it happen again.
Heather Patterson from the St Vincent de Paul Society op shop, just down the road from the burst water main, witnessed it first hand and heard a huge bang.
She's thankful the water didn't enter the shop.
"I've seen floods and that but nothing like this - this was just something you see on a movie - it was amazing but terrifying in one way because all I could think of was all that water going down the drain... Aro Street," she said.
And the leftover debris is still evident today. Rocks are scattered down the side of the road.
"Up the road there's a car - you can see there's a huge rock stuck in under the car so I don't think he'll be driving away any time soon but I'm so pleased that no one or nothing got seriously damaged," she said.
A worker at the scene of the burst water main. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Further down Aro Street, Ryan Greer works at Arobake cafe. He was out the back doing dishes when the water main burst.
He saw the huge rush of water float down the road - and he hoped his flat nearby was okay.
"It's kind of muddy outside our front door and there was like a bunch of stones outside the garage but like the street sweeper got them," he said.
Water main caps off eventful few days
It's been a rough week for the city's infrastructure. A sewerage pipe burst earlier in the week and had to be repaired quickly.
The scene in the Wellington CBD after a sewerage pipe burst. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Local workers near Civic Square were beset by a foul stink, with one telling RNZ it smelt like sewage had been dumped in his office.
A report from December found a third of wastewater pipes in the city are in either poor or very poor condition.
City councillor Sean Rush who holds the water portfolio has written an urgent letter to stakeholders, including Wellington Water, today asking for action.
"Look, let's have a target of no major incidents over next summer. We've got the year to get on with getting to know our system - to make sure that any other reports that have been put together in relation to these critical assets have not been lost or are being actioned," he said.
The burst water main in central Wellington's Aro Valley. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Rush says there's broad support around the council table for more money to be thrown at the city's infrastructure - but the question is, will that mean a double-digit rate hike?
"We'll be looking at the asset management plans for all our assets and there will be a trade off.... my expectation to be quite honest is that rates will increase in order to cover the infrastructure repairs and maintenance that are needed for a 21st century system," he said.
Wellington Water said it has made good progress with repairing the water main.
It said debris and silt from the burst pipe made its way into the stormwater network and down into the harbour - however, it said that has been controlled.
