Helping us help you

Our upgrade and maintenance responsibilities cover Council-owned stormwater assets, and if you see something we need to know about, we appreciate you contacting us, or completing an Online service request.

Our programme of work doesn’t include privately owned assets, but here’s some things that you can do to reduce or prevent damage to your section or home next time a storm blows through Kāpiti.

Service requests

Council spends about $1.5 million a year on stormwater pipe and open drain maintenance as well as sump cleaning and rural culverts and swales sweeping.

We receive a range of inquiries about public stormwater every day. These include requests for:

assistance in a flood event
information on flood zones
long-term solutions to alleviate flooding.

We deal with many of the operational ones and information requests quickly. Other requests may need further investigations, including site visits or other research, and often result in physical works being planned, designed and carried out.

Onsite water storage

Excess water from private properties can overwhelm public stormwater systems. Store excess water during a heavy rain event by diverting it into a storage tank, so under-capacity pipes aren’t overwhelmed by too much water at once. Once the storm has passed and your water pipe is clear, you can let the excess water out.

Downpipes

If you notice leaves, twigs, or garbage blocking a gutter, spout, or downpipe on your property, take a moment to clear it out and bin it before it becomes a problem during the next heavy rainfall. Fix any of your downpipes and gutters that are damaged. Otherwise, your downpipes may discharge water to your neighbour’s property or to the street causing flooding.

Leaves and blockages

If you have a stream or drain on your property you responsible for clearing debris, securing structures, and maintaining overland flow paths. You can also help reduce flood impacts by keeping your gutters clear, not blowing leaves, lawn clippings and garden waste into the street, and clearing any drains or culverts outside your property.

Make sure you keep on top of maintenance and fixes.

Tree maintenance

Regularly check trees on your property to see if roots are growing too close to pipes or dropped leaves have blocked a drain. Rake up excess leaves as they fall and watch for roots encroaching on pipes.

Sump maintenance

Discarded litter can contribute to flooding during storm events, as it clogs sumps/drains. If you notice litter on the ground, pick up and bin it. If sumps/drains are clogged, give us a call and we’ll sort it out.

Updated 3 June 2025