Where Icon Water's sewer meets yours
The ACT Government says Icon Water controls the supply of treated drinking water and the sewers. Icon Water's guide for home owners draws the line plainly: you maintain your sanitary system up to the point it joins the wastewater network, and Icon Water looks after everything past that.
That join is usually at the property boundary, typically just downstream of the last inspection opening. Many blocks have a sewer riser, an inspection shaft Icon Water says is likely within a few metres of the fence. With no inspection opening, the approved drainage plan sets the line; Access Canberra's plumbing tie search holds those plans. If a fault sits right at the join, ask Icon Water whose it is before anyone digs.
Who looks after which pipe
| The private side | The public side | |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer | Yours, from the house to the join, which is usually at the boundary | Icon Water's wastewater network beyond the join |
| Stormwater | Yours: gutters, downpipes and pipes above the stormwater tie | The ACT Government's network below the tie |
| Water supply | Yours: pipes on the house side of the meter | In most cases Icon Water maintains the pipe from the main, the meter and its isolation valve |
Blocked stormwater and the tie point
Properties in newer suburbs join the Government's stormwater network at a tie point, and Access Canberra can tell you where yours is. A blockage above the tie belongs to the owner; one below it belongs to the ACT Government.
If the blockage looks to be outside your block, the plumber has to expose the tie point and ask Access Canberra for an inspection. When it proves to be the Government's problem, you're reimbursed for having the tie exposed. And keep rainwater out of the sewer: Icon Water says downpipes and stormwater drains must not connect to its network.
What shapes plumbing jobs in Canberra
Frosty winters
The Bureau's Canberra Airport station, with records from 2008, averages 58.8 days a year at or below 0°C. July's mean minimum is 0.1°C. Exposed pipes and garden taps take the brunt.
Soft water
Icon Water calls Canberra's water soft, at about 43 mg/L of calcium carbonate on 2021-22 figures. It notes that hard water is the kind more likely to cause scaling.
Houses, townhouses and units
At the 2021 Census, 63.2% of the ACT's occupied homes were separate houses, 17.2% townhouses, terraces or semis and 19.4% flats or apartments. Renters lived in 30.7% of them.
Large trees are protected
A private tree at least 8 metres tall, or with a canopy 8 metres wide, is protected under the Urban Forest Act 2023. Digging in its tree protection zone needs ACT Government approval first.
Gas: no new connections since 2023
Since 8 December 2023, the ACT has prevented new gas network connections in residential, commercial and community facility zones, under the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010. The rule stops Evoenergy, the gas distributor, from adding connections. Homes that already have a gas meter keep using it.
Nothing yet forces a working gas appliance out. The ACT plans to stop using fossil fuel gas by 2045, and the Government expects parts of the network to close from the mid-2030s, with notice. Gas appliance rules went out for consultation in 2026, so check for changes before you replace anything. See hot water in Canberra and Canberra gas fitters.
Checking an ACT licence
Licences in the ACT come under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004. Plumbers, drainers and gasfitters each hold separate classes, so ask which class covers your job.
On Access Canberra's public register you can see whether a licence has expired or been suspended, surrendered or cancelled, with any disciplinary action under the Details tab. Icon Water's own line: all plumbing work needs a licensed plumber, apart from changing tap washers. See our licence check guide.
One company, many names
In December 2019 the ACT Supreme Court fined Your Local Plumbing Group and its director over ads run under nine business names presented as unrelated, one of them Tuggeranong Plumbing. Make sure the name on your quote is the business that holds the licence.
Canberra specialists and suburbs
Each Canberra job has its own page: blocked drains, emergencies, hot water, gas fitting, leaks, relining and commercial work. District pages, from Belconnen to Tuggeranong, follow below.
What we would do
Find two things on your block before you need them: the sewer riser near the fence and the water meter in the front yard. A look inside the riser tells you whether a blockage is more likely yours or Icon Water's, and the meter's isolation valve stops a burst pipe running. Then check the plumber's licence and class on Access Canberra's register. If the fault is on Icon Water's side, let Icon Water clear it; a plumber who clears it for you can cost you the reimbursement.