Tauwharenīkau Pipeline River Crossing Replacement
The Tauwharenīkau River watermain pipe replacement is a key water supply resilience priority for Featherston. Construction is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of April 2026.
About the project
The project will see the installation of a new pipe crossing, approximately 4m below the riverbed. The works involve trenching and laying new water pipe alongside the existing one.
This work will take approximately four months, starting from 1 December 2025. Hours of work will generally be 7am-5.30pm Monday to Friday, with some Saturdays worked if necessary.
During this period, there will be increased construction vehicle traffic on Underhill Road heading North from Featherston. Access to individual properties will not be affected.
This project is part of a suite of water infrastructure investment for the South Wairarapa community. From 1 July 2025, the Council took the water capital programme back in-house (previously delivered on Council’s behalf by Wellington Water Ltd) towards efficiency, more cost control, and local contractor delivery where appropriate.
Project update – December 2025
The project began on 1 December 2025, following a mana whenua karakia the night before for the project and workers as they implement a more resilient water supply for the community in Paetumokai (Featherston). The project is being delivered to schedule with the first trench being installed on the south side of the river and the pipe sleeve inserted 4m below the current riverbed level. The trench is currently being back filled ahead of the next tranche of work in 2026. The Tauwharenīkau River will be put back in place over the Christmas break.
Background
The water supply to Featherston crosses the Tauwharenīkau River via a metal pipe, encased in concrete. Since the crossing was installed, the riverbed has dropped leaving the watermain pipe exposed and vulnerable to failure. In 2022, work began to evaluate potential options to resolve the problem and remedial work was done to maintain the waterpipe.
