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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Provision of water services: operational matters - Other operational matters - Fire hydrants

215: Water service providers must instal fire hydrants

You could also call this:

"Water companies must install fire hydrants to help keep you safe"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you live in an area with a water service provider, they must attach fire hydrants to the main water pipes. They have to put the fire hydrants in places that are convenient for putting out fires, and they need to get approval from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. You can think of Fire and Emergency New Zealand as the organisation that helps keep you safe in case of fires.

The water service provider also needs to decide how far apart to put the fire hydrants, again with approval from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. They must make sure the fire hydrants are working properly.

If there is more than one water service provider in an area, they can agree that one of them will be responsible for attaching the fire hydrants. If a water service provider is not happy with a decision made by Fire and Emergency New Zealand, they can appeal to the District Court.

A trunk main is a big pipe that carries water from one place to another, like from a source of water to a filter or reservoir. Water service providers do not have to attach fire hydrants to these big pipes. You can find more information about this by looking at the legislation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1461149.

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Part 3Provision of water services: operational matters
Other operational matters: Fire hydrants

215Water service providers must instal fire hydrants

  1. In every part of a water service provider’s service area where the provider is responsible for providing water supply services, the provider must attach fire hydrants to the main pipes of the water supply network other than trunk mains.

  2. The water service provider must—

  3. attach the fire hydrants at the most convenient places for extinguishing fires as determined by the provider with the approval of Fire and Emergency New Zealand; and
    1. determine, with the approval of Fire and Emergency New Zealand, how far apart to attach the fire hydrants; and
      1. maintain the fire hydrants in effective working order.

        1. If more than 1 water service provider is responsible for providing water supply services in a territorial authority’s district, the water service providers may agree that one of those providers is responsible for attaching the fire hydrants in all or part of the district.

        2. If the water service provider is a water organisation, it must consult the territorial authority in whose district the water organisation is operating before seeking the approval of Fire and Emergency New Zealand under subsection (2)(a) or (b).

        3. If a water service provider is dissatisfied with any decision of Fire and Emergency New Zealand under subsection (2), it may, within 1 month after receiving notice of the decision, appeal against that decision to the District Court, whose decision is final.

        4. In this section, trunk main means a main used for the purposes of—

        5. conveying water from a source of supply to a filter or reservoir; or
          1. conveying water from one filter or reservoir to another filter or reservoir; or
            1. conveying water in bulk from one part of the limits of supply to another part of those limits; or
              1. giving or taking a supply of water in bulk.

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