Kenmore and its sewer network
Sunset Road pump station
Urban Utilities finished upgrading this pump station in May 2026, adding storage to reduce wet weather overflows and odour.
Kilkivan Avenue rising main
Sections of the sewer rising main along Kilkivan Avenue were replaced, with project notices running from June to September 2022. The work meant open trenches and deep digging for the new pipe and maintenance holes.
Under the river to Jindalee
Water and sewer mains cross to Jindalee in a tunnel 10 metres below the Brisbane River, built to replace pipes damaged in the 2011 floods.
Owner-occupied houses
At the 2021 Census, 92.2% of occupied homes in the suburb were separate houses. 35.8% were owned outright, 45.6% with a mortgage and 17.0% rented.
Why heavy rain backs up a sewer
Sewers are designed for wastewater, typically five times the average dry weather flow, yet they are far smaller than stormwater pipes. In a storm, rain gets in through wrong connections, low overflow relief gullies and cracked pipes or maintenance holes, and the system overflows.
Urban Utilities asks owners to make sure roof, driveway and patio stormwater pipes aren't connected to the sewer or to the gully.
Your gully is the safety valve
The overflow relief gully, a grated outlet usually near the laundry, lets a blocked sewer spill outside instead of through your floor wastes. Regulations put it at least 150 mm below the lowest drain inside the house and at least 75 mm above the ground. Only a licensed plumber should move or install one, and keeping it in order is the owner's job.
Pools, sheds and extensions
Building or excavating near an Urban Utilities sewer needs its approval unless the job meets the state's MP 1.4 criteria: for a house or shed, 3 m clear of the pipe's centreline, with digging 3 m clear as well. Stormwater pipes belong to Council, which has its own rules.
Council's house drainage plans show where the in-ground sewer drains run, though not stormwater. Get one before the excavator turns up.
What we would do
Before the storm season, see where each downpipe ends and whether the gully grate sits clear of the soil. They're the two things Urban Utilities asks owners to check, and both are easier to sort out on a dry day than in a storm. If anything already backs up when it pours, book a drain specialist to test the line.