23 September 2019
Alexander van Paassen
[email address] Dear Alexander
I write concerning an official information request received from Hugh Davenport on 5
September 2019. (Appendix One)
As discussed, Wellington City Council is transferring part of this request to Wellington
Water Limited under Section 12(b)(ii) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987. We ask that you respond to:
Question 2: What was the flow rate the council determined for the leak. If this was different
from 250ml per minute, then please amend my calculations above.
Questions 3: When did the council first perform a site visit for the leak (including
contractors), and what was the outcome of that initial site visit.
Question 4: What is the estimated cost of fixing the leak at the time it was first reported
Question 6: What is the total cost spent so far visiting the leak, and fixing the leak?
Question 8: What is the total environmental cost so far from the council visiting the leak
and fixing the leak? I note again that the council likely has this information ready due to the
use of a "climate change lens" for everything the council does.
Question 10: What remedial actions need to take place (such as engineers report to
determine erosion damage to the road), and what is the expected cost for such remedial
actions?
Question 11: What environmental costs are expected for any remedial actions needed
from step 10.
Question 12: What are the councils plans for informing the ratepayers of Wellington that
they are misusing the ratepayer funds?
Under the Act, please contact Mr Davenport to inform him of when your request will be
due.
Regards,
Asha Harry
Assurance Advisor
Appendix One: Original Request
From: Hugh Davenport
[mailto:[FYI request #11149 email]] Sent: Thursday, 5 September 2019 11:38 AM
To: BUS: Assurance
Subject: Official Information request - Information about damage caused by leak
Dear Wellington City Council,
On August 22, 9:11am, I sent a FixIt request to the council about a leak on the corner of Aro St and Ohiro
Road. I estimate that it was probably leaking around 250ml in a minute, but this is a rough estimate.
After seeing the council made no action to resolve this leak, I also sent in FixIt requests on August 30, and
September 2.
I'm concerned that the negligence of the council has lead to damage to the street due to the lack of action
of the council. At a rate of 250ml per minute, after 2 weeks (now), this will have leaked around 5L of water
underneath, and on top of the road, and also into the storm water system. I'm concerned that this will be
causing erossion issues with water leaking under the road, and a sinkhole could occur (such as
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/09/bus-stuck-in-large-sinkhole-in-wellington.html)
which would cause a lot of remedial work to be done to fix the hole.
The first contact I've had from the council about this was this morning when I was called by Wellington
Water (contractor for WCC, subject to s2(6) of the LGOIMA), who said that they were visiting the leak today
due it becoming "more severe" overnight. This was 2 weeks after I first reported it.
So, for this request, I would like to know the following:
1. When was this leak first reported to the council. If it was before August 22, then please amend my
calculations above.
2. What was the flow rate the council determined for the leak. If this was different from 250ml per minute,
then please amend my calculations above.
3. When did the council first perform a site visit for the leak (including contractors), and what was the
outcome of that initial site visit.
4. What is the estimated cost of fixing the leak at the time it was first reported 5. What is the estimated
cost to the environment of fixing the leak at the time it was first reported. I would imagine that the council
have this information due to using a "climate change lens" on everything they do now
(https://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/news/2019/06/climate-emergency). 6. What is the total cost spent so far visiting the leak, and fixing the leak?
7. If the leak is still not fixed, then what is the estimated cost of fixing the leak now, ontop of the total cost
spent so far.
8. What is the total environmental cost so far from the council visiting the leak and fixing the leak? I note
again that the council likely has this information ready due to the use of a "climate change lens" for
everything the council does.
9. If the leak is still not fixed, then what is the current flow rate, and what environmental cost will this incur
by not fixing the leak?
10. What remedial actions need to take place (such as engineers report to determine erosion damage to
the road), and what is the expected cost for such remedial actions?
11. What environmental costs are expected for any remedial actions needed from step 10.
Wellington City Council | 2 of 3
From this response, we can determine whether the council has wasted rate payer funds due to their
negligence. This can be determined by taking the costs from 6, 7 and 10, and subtracting the cost from 4. If
this is above zero, the council has ended up spending more money due to their negligence. If this is the
case, I would like to request the following in addition:
12. What are the councils plans for informing the ratepayers of Wellington that they are misusing the
ratepayer funds?
13. What is the council doing to ensure that this wastage of ratepayer funds is not done in the future?
Additionally, from this response we can determine whether the council are indeed taking their declaration
of a climate emergency seriously. If we take the costs from 8, 9 and 11, and subtract the cost from 5. If this
is above zero, then the council has ended up damaging the environment more than if they chose to fix the
leak in a timely manner. If this is the case, I would like to request the following in addition:
14. What are the councils plans to ensure that the "climate change lens" is applied appropriately so that in
future there is minimal cost to the environment.
15. What are the councils plans for informing the ratepayers of Wellington that they are failing at applying
the "climate change lens" as suggested by the declaration of a climate emergency.
Yours faithfully,
Hugh Davenport
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FYI request #11149 email]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so,
please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?body=wellington_city_council
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and
copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us
from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
Wellington City Council | 3 of 3
