Central Highlands Water and your pipes
Central Highlands Water supplies the greater Ballarat region, and its area runs from Ballan in the east to Landsborough and Navarre in the north-west and Rokewood in the south.
Central Highlands Water's own website wouldn't load for us, so we can't tell you where its sewer pipe ends and yours begins. Don't let anyone assume. If a blockage or leak looks close to your boundary, ring the number on your water bill and ask before work starts.
Outside the sewered areas, the City of Ballarat handles septic permits. Owners first check whether the land is in the declared sewerage district, and Central Highlands Water is a referral agency for every property inside its sewerage district. A septic application needs a Land Capability Assessment.
Ballarat facts that change a plumbing job
Over 500 km of drains
The City of Ballarat manages the drainage system in its roads and reserves. Maintaining the drains on your property is your job.
Roots block Council's drains most
Council says tree roots are the most common cause of blockages in the drains it clears. If your own drain keeps blocking, ask the plumber to look for roots too.
Stormwater must go to the right place
Under the Victorian Building Regulations, new building work must connect stormwater to a legal point of discharge set by the City. Three or more homes on one site, or a new commercial build, will usually need on-site detention too.
Houses, and a lot of renters
At the 2021 Census, 85.1% of occupied homes in the City of Ballarat's area were separate houses and 12.0% townhouses or semis. 31.6% were rented, above Victoria's 28.5%.
Gas hot water from 1 March 2027
From that date, a gas hot water system in an existing Ballarat home has to be replaced with an efficient electric one, such as a heat pump, once it reaches the end of its life. It isn't a ban on working systems. Gas units can still be repaired, and LPG use is unchanged.
We haven't seen the legal instrument for owner-occupied homes, so check current rules before you sign. With almost a third of homes rented, the rental standard matters here as well: a rental system that permanently fails and can't be repaired must be replaced with an efficient heat pump or an electric-boosted solar water heater. Owner-occupiers may be eligible for a Solar Homes rebate; see Victorian hot water rebates.
Licences for Ballarat plumbers and gasfitters
The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) administers plumbing licences in Victoria, and registers and licenses gasfitters too. Plumbers hold registration or a licence for each class of work. Registration lets them do that class of work; a licence also lets them design, supervise and issue compliance certificates.
Before the job, get the full name and number of the person doing it and look them up on the state's licence register. The licence check guide shows how.
Ballarat specialists
For urgent jobs, start with an emergency plumber in Ballarat. For heaters, cooktops and gas lines, see gas fitters in Ballarat. Other jobs, such as blocked drains, hot water or septic systems, are covered on our main service pages.
What we would do
Before you book, work out where the problem sits: in the house, in your yard, or under the street. Your own drains are yours, Council's drains in roads and reserves are Council's, and the water and sewer mains belong to Central Highlands Water. Because we couldn't confirm where Central Highlands Water's sewer responsibility starts, ask it whenever a blockage looks close to the boundary. It's a short call that can save you paying for someone else's pipe.