Blocked stormwater drain in Sydney

Common signs include slow drainage after heavy rain, water pooling in your yard, unpleasant smells from outdoor drains, or gurgling noises in pipes.

Homeowners are generally responsible for maintaining and clearing stormwater drains on their property, while the local council is responsible for public drains outside property boundaries.

Stormwater drains are often blocked by leaves, dirt, roots, garden debris, silt, and even rubbish washed in during heavy rain or storms.

Plumbers typically use CCTV drain cameras to identify the location of the blockage, followed by high-pressure water jetting or mechanical drain cleaning to remove the obstruction safely and effectively.

It depends on how many pits are on the line, what has built up and whether roots are involved. A short, silted outlet is a small job, and a long line with root damage takes more time. Visits carry no call out fee, and the price is agreed before work begins.

No. Stormwater must run to the street or a council system, not into the sewer. In heavy rain it overloads the sewer and can push sewage back up into homes. If our camera shows a stormwater line connected to the sewer, we tell you and explain what has to change.

The council looks after the street drain and its own pipes. You look after the pipes and pits inside your property. If the blockage is past your boundary, we give you footage and a written note of where it is, so the council or Sydney Water can act on it.

A pit can overflow because the pipe from it is too small, has a flat fall, or is sitting in standing water at the street end. Heavy rain from a large roof can also outrun a small outlet. A camera inspection shows which of these is the cause.

You can lift the grate and scoop out leaves and silt by hand, with gloves on, and hose the pit out. Do not push rods blindly into old pipes, because you can break a joint. If the water still sits after that, the blockage is further along the line.

The drain clears and then slows again, often after the next rain, and the blocked section is near a large tree. A camera shows fine roots hanging in the pipe or pushing through a joint. Cutting them out gets water moving, but a damaged joint needs repair to stop them returning.

All of Sydney: the Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, City, North Shore, Northern Beaches, the Hills District, Western Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown and the Sutherland Shire. The nearest plumber comes with a drain camera and jetter, so a blocked pit or downpipe line can be found and cleared on the first visit.

Clearing a blocked drain is normally treated as maintenance and is not covered. Water damage from a sudden storm event sometimes is, but a drain that was never maintained or a slowly failing pipe usually is not. Read your policy, take photos, and keep our written findings with your claim.