Plumbing facts for Woden
Built in the 1960s and 1970s
The ACT Government says Woden was mostly developed in those decades, and so were most of its infrastructure networks. Some are operating at or near capacity.
Big blocks, big trees
As an older district, many suburbs have larger blocks and more canopy: every suburb except Phillip had more than 25% canopy cover in 2020.
A creek that floods
Yarralumla Creek is a floodway that carries big flows in heavy rain, and there is potential for flooding in some areas near the town centre and Mawson. The Woden Flood Memorial remembers lives lost in the 1971 flood.
A mix of homes
In the Woden Valley SA3 area, 58.3% of occupied homes were separate houses at the 2021 Census, 20.3% townhouses or similar and 21.3% flats or apartments.
Sewer upgrades, and your side of the line
Icon Water knows of key sewer capacity constraints in Woden and has major upgrades planned, likely staged over coming years. That work is on its network. A blockage on the private side of the sewer tie is still the owner's to fix.
If a sewer access chamber cover in the street or a park is overflowing, report it to Icon Water immediately. The same goes for an outdoor grate on your block that keeps overflowing when nothing inside is running.
Older drains under older trees
Icon Water says most blockages start when roots tap into pipes, hot fat goes down the sink, objects get into the system, or pipes break from digging or heavy vehicles. With Woden's mature canopy, roots are a likely suspect in a slow drain, but a camera inspection shows the cause before anything is replaced.
Every tree on public land, including the nature strip, is protected under ACT law, and so are large private trees. Groundwork in a protected tree's zone needs approval. A specialist in pipe relining in Canberra can say whether the pipe can be lined in place.
Gas appliances near the end of their life
If your Woden home still runs gas hot water or heating, nothing forces you to replace a working appliance. The ACT plans to stop using fossil gas by 2045 and says parts of the network will likely shut down from the mid-2030s, with notice. Its advice is to go electric one appliance at a time, as each one needs replacing. See hot water in Canberra for the options.
What we would do
In an older Woden house with big trees, book a camera inspection of the sewer line before a blockage becomes an overflow. It shows whether roots are in the pipe and where, which decides between a clean, a reline or a dig, and it tells you early whether a protected tree will be part of the job.