A street tree's roots are in my sewer pipe. Can I cut the tree back?

No. The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters doesn't let the public prune street trees. Talk to Council, and ask a drain specialist whether relining can seal your pipe without disturbing the tree.

How do I know if my Norwood home is in a flood area?

Council publishes flood depth maps for storms of different sizes, last updated in 2019. Find your street on them before planning stormwater work.

Plumbers in Norwood: tree roots, semis and flood maps

Plumbers in Norwood Roots, terraces, rain.

Norwood is a suburb of semis, terraces and big trees, in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters. Protected trees and shared walls shape a lot of drain and pipe work here. Tell us what's wrong in your Norwood home and we'll match you with a licence-checked plumber who specialises in that kind of job.

Norwood facts that matter for plumbing

Semis and terraces lead

At the 2021 Census, 50.0% of the suburb's occupied homes were semis, terraces or townhouses, 34.5% separate houses and 14.5% flats. 44.3% were rented.

Protected trees are common

Council says regulated and significant trees are particularly common in its area. Any tree damaging activity to one is development and needs approval, so check before removing a tree.

Street trees are Council's

Council manages about 23,000 street trees and 7,000 reserve trees. The public may not prune street trees, and new plantings are assessed against stormwater pipes underground.

Flood depth maps

Council publishes maps of flood depth for storms from a one in 5 year event up to one in 500 years. They were last updated in 2019.

Roots in the drains

Where roots have broken into a pipe, digging near a protected tree can need development approval. Pipe relining seals the damaged section from inside the pipe.

South Australia's plumbing code backs this up: vitrified clay drains can't stay under a building unless they've been relined with cured in-place pipe. Our tree roots page explains the options.

Semis and shared walls

In a semi or terrace, the drain you're worried about may run under or beside your neighbour's side. Before anyone digs along a party wall, work out together whose pipe it is and agree on access.

Renting? Tell your landlord or agent about the blockage or leak first.

Sewer, stormwater and heavy rain

SA Water looks after the sewer mains. We couldn't confirm where its responsibility ends on a Norwood block, so ask SA Water. Roof and yard water go to stormwater, which is a different network.

If you're replacing a stormwater pipe or regrading paving, check Council's flood depth maps first. A stormwater specialist can size pipes and pits with the risk in mind.

What we would do

For roots in a drain, ask for a camera inspection and a relining quote before any talk of digging. If a street tree is involved, call Council before anyone touches it. In a semi, speak to your neighbour early: shared drains are far easier to fix when both sides agree.