Hutt City Council will investigate Wellington Water's handling of a leaky pipe that caused a major slip and wiped out the water supply of 165 homes.
Point Howard residents said they had reported the leak several times but no action was taken.
Two water trucks were in the area on Wednesday, where residents towed containers, carts and buckets to fill up with drinking water.
"This just didn't need to happen really, if they had just listened to the complaints," Point Howard resident Emma Murray told Newshub
Residents said they've complained six times to Hutt City Council and Wellington Water since December when they spotted the leaking pipe, which officials say is the likely cause of Tuesday's slip.
"We measured the water flow, it was about 130 litres a minute - which is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in 11 days," Point Howard resident Heather Armishaw said.
The leak saturated the soil, causing it to ooze down a slope on Tuesday morning. It eventually caused a large slip, knocking out the water supply to 165 homes.
Residents were annoyed that action wasn't taken sooner to prevent the slip.
"Wellington water didn't come and look until it was really too late," Armishaw said.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry told Newshub there'll be an investigation into why Wellington Water didn't fix the leak.
"We will be looking at exactly what's happened - who knew what and when - and then looking at what do we need to change moving forward to avoid this situation in the future," Barry said.
Wellington Water declined Newshub's request for an interview, saying the issue is being handled by Hutt City Council.
But that's not good enough for residents who want answers and better communication from their water provider.
"We're cross that they haven't had any communication with us," said Armishaw
Hoping that an investigation will get to the bottom of why they now have a large slip in their neighbourhood, and no water.
The council has also urged residents to conserve water, and a boil water warning is in place until further notice.
