Fixing burst pipes

Work is different every day for the Citycare Water construction team in South Auckland – and that’s how John Quinn loves it.

John is a skilled labourer and has been with Citycare Water for four years based at East Tamaki.

During the COVID-19 lockdown John has been redeployed to the responsive maintenance team to assist with on-call emergency essential work such as a main pipe burst because construction projects have been put on hold due to the pandemic.

“I really enjoy my work, I have loads of friends, the office staff are fantastic and it’s something different every day!” he says.

“We start early, often at 5am, and sometimes we even work through the night but I actually look forward to going to work,” he said.

“Citycare looks after us well and I have a great team. I like to go in the hole and get things done!” he laughed.

Main pipe bursts can cause massive spills of water and require immediate attention. John’s team cuts the old or damaged pipe structure out and replaces it with a new piece.

John is studying an infrastructure course at the moment and he’s excited about gaining new qualifications. His foreman Tereaere Rauaua has a hands-on approach, so John’s continually watching and learning.

“He always explains how to do things right and with the qualification I am learning more skills like welding pipes for example,” John said.

“Before the shutdown, we were working on installing a big pipe – 315mm in diameter – at Redoubt Road, Manukau, as a back-up and ultimately to replace the existing old pipes under a busy road,” John said.

“We have been on site for four months and were almost finished! When we get back we’ll just need a few more weeks,” he said.

John Quinn at work replacing a damaged pipe and resealing the resident’s driveway afterwards.