Skerretts Creek was the location for a water catchment in 1955 till the early 1960s. Water was piped out of the creek to serve the community’s needs.
Skerretts Creek Water Catchment served as an alternative water source for Wainuiomata to avoid fees for utilising the Wellington Water supply from Morton Dam. This initiative commenced in the mid-1950s, but ceased operations in the early 1960s. During the late 1950s, the Hutt County Council assumed responsibility for Wainuiomata’s water supply. Eventually, a decision was made to link with the WCC pipeline, granting residents access to water from Morton Dam for the first time. Additionally, the establishment of the Konini Reservoir ensured a reliable water source for Wainuiomata.
From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, Norman Willis through the Wainuiomata Development Company developed a housing subdivision in Homedale. This project encompassed areas along Hine Road, from the Poole Crescent intersection to its end, as well as Sunny Grove and Willis Grove, with the latter named after him. During this time, local water catchments starting in 1955, were initiated to harness water from streams behind Hair Street, but encountered problems due to turbid water. To address this, Norman Willis acting on behalf of the Hutt County Council, acquired 60 acres of Skerretts Creek in an area above Sunny Grove. Purchased from the Boys Brigade Organization, this land was intended to establish a reticulated water supply for this subdivision as well as the Wainuiomata Township.
The water catchment was built incorporating two weirs and 4 or 5 concrete storage tanks. It also featured two steel pipes spanning across the creek. Subsequently, two more tanks located along the Mount Crowther Track were installed in the 1960s and were probably part of the scheme. Willis was compensated for this purchase and for upgrading his water main from 4 inches to 6 inches in diameter to handle the increased water demand beyond his subdivision.
The scheme was decommissioned in the early 1960s and today, you can easily find eroding infrastructure in the form of broken pipes, old weirs, and vandalised water tanks nestled among the surrounding bush and in the creek bed. For example: between the top of Sunny Grove and before Skerritts Creek crosses the Whakanui Track, you can see a weir near the two remaining lower water tanks. There are also numerous broken sections of pipeline that run down the creek toward Sunny Grove.
Close to the remaining water tanks near the creek are remnants of a security fence. Some residents have memories of a ranger on site, but there is no real evidence that rangers looked after the water catchment area despite being fenced off and out of bounds to.the public. Rangers were employed in the Wainuiomata and Orongorongo Water Scheme however, as they were concerned about typhoid being transmitted via the water system. It is possible then, that this water catchment was also patrolled by a ranger at some point.
