Severe weather impacts and road closures
What happened
A large slip occurred on 14 March 2023 on Howard Road, Point Howard, resulting in 165 houses losing access to power, water and gas. The road was closed and the Hutt City Council Emergency Operations Centre was stood up to deal with the response.
About the project
Following the slip power and gas services were quickly restored and the road was opened (but down to one lane past the slip site) once emergency response works were carried out.
Temporary works to stabilise the Howard Road slip site were completed in early 2023. Permanent works began in October 2023 and involved drilling anchors into the slope and the construction of a reinforced concrete wall at the site.
Click on visual above to view bigger image.
Wellington Water is also replacing the water mains pipe in the area following our works. For updates on this project visit Wellington Water.
Wellington Water and Hutt City Council released a joint review on the Howard Road slip in late-March 2023. The review examined what happened in the weeks and months leading up to the slip and found that:
- residents provided accurate and timely information about the status of the leak at Point Howard
- the engineering report, that provided an initial geotechnical assessment of the site after the slip, considered that the landslide likely resulted from a combination of a leaking water pipe and rainfall at the time
- there was an inconsistency in the flow of customer information between Wellington Water and Hutt City Council which impeded the timely escalation and prioritisation of the leak repair.
The review also made recommendations which both organisations are committed to implementing.
The review can be found by clicking on this link.
A meeting was held for residents on Tuesday 26 September 2023 to talk through the works and road user impacts, as well as give people the opportunity to ask questions. These handouts were provided at the meeting:
Frequently asked questions
Find our frequently asked questions here.