Why the line matters
The boundary decides who pays when the sewer blocks or breaks. On your side, you pay a licensed plumber. On the company's side, it's the company's job, and some companies will reimburse the plumber's costs if the blockage was theirs and the plumber reported it at the time.
Don't assume the company owns everything past your front fence. Sydney Water, for one, warns that your wastewater system "may extend beyond your property boundary". When a pipe needs work, a drain specialist can show you which side the problem is on, and we can match you with one.
Words you'll come across
- Inspection opening (IO): a capped access point on your sewer pipe, often near the boundary, where a plumber can get into the line.
- Point of connection: where your pipe joins the water company's system.
- Junction: the fitting on the company's sewer main that your pipe connects to.
- Boundary trap and inspection shaft: fittings some properties have near the boundary; Hunter Water counts them as the owner's.
- Overflow relief gully: the grate in the ground outside that lets a blocked sewer overflow outdoors instead of inside.
At a glance
| Where your part ends | If the blockage is in the company's pipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Water | Up to and including the point of connection. Sydney Water owns the junction | You can claim reasonable costs if the plumber reported it, for up to 2 hours of work |
| Hunter Water | Where your pipes meet Hunter Water's system, boundary trap and inspection shaft included | Ask Hunter Water |
| South East Water | The inspection opening, often near the property boundary | It arranges the repair and reimburses fair and reasonable costs, if the plumber referred the blockage |
| City of Gold Coast | The connection point, or one metre inside the boundary if that can't be found | Refunds capped at $300 including GST, and the blockage must be reported the same day |
| Water Corporation (WA) | You pay to clear blockages up to the sewer junction on its main | It pays the plumber a standard fee for locating the blockage |
| TasWater | The connection point, usually the inspection opening | It will consider reimbursing the plumbing when the blockage is in its system |
| Any other company | Ask the company for your property | Ask the company |
Sydney Water
Sydney Water's wording is that "Property owners own all wastewater pipes and fittings up to where they connect to our water system, including the point of connection." It adds: "We own the junction, but the property owner is responsible for their connection to our wastewater system (the point of connection)."
Tree roots are on you up to that point too. Sydney Water says the owner "is responsible for clearing any tree roots that enter the junction at the point of connection". Where a private pipe has collapsed under a public footpath or road, Sydney Water says it "may repair" it for residential customers, and the same goes for sections "deeper than 2.5 metres". Ask Sydney Water whether that applies before you book a dig.
If you paid a licensed plumber who found a blockage in Sydney Water's pipes, you can claim "reasonable out-of-pocket expenses", "as long as they reported it to us". Claims are limited to "a maximum of 2 hours work". On shared lines: "Each owner who shares a joint private service is responsible for it."
Hunter Water
Hunter Water spells out the owner's share in detail. You are responsible for "maintaining, repairing and replacing the sewer (wastewater) pipes and fittings on your property, right up to where they connect with Hunter Water's wastewater system." It adds that "This includes the boundary trap and inspection shaft."
Its plumbers' page defines the point of connection as the arm of the junction on Hunter Water's sewer main, inside the customer's property. For a blockage, its advice is "You should contact a licensed plumber", and "This will be at your own expense." If the plumber thinks the fault is in Hunter Water's main, ask Hunter Water about it straight away. It also says "We do not own or maintain common sanitary drainage systems", so shared private lines stay with the owners.
South East Water
South East Water says: "We manage and maintain the sewer up to the connection point with your property, often near the property boundary." That point is "called the inspection opening and any pipes or fittings upstream of this is the responsibility of the property owner." Its customer charter calls the company's section the "property connection branch".
When a blockage is on its side, South East Water says it will arrange the repair, and it will "reimburse fair and reasonable costs". You pay if "The plumber didn't refer the blockage to us", if "CCTV was used", if "A high-pressure water jet cleaner was used", or if "Tree roots were cleared". Digging to find your inspection point or boundary trap isn't reimbursed either. A combined drain shared with neighbours is "a privately owned sewerage pipe".
City of Gold Coast
The City's rule: "We are responsible for the maintenance of sewer pipes from the sewer main to the connection point", "or one metre inside a property boundary if the connection point cannot be found."
Refunds go through the plumber, who must phone the City to report the blocked sewer before applying. The amount "is capped at $300 including GST unless exceptional circumstances apply (evidence required)." Nothing is paid for a blockage "that was not reported on the same day as it was discovered", or for "work undertaken on your private sewer".
Water Corporation (WA)
Water Corporation frames it as cost. Owners pay for "The cost of clearing any blockage within your wastewater property connection, up to the sewer junction of our wastewater mains." Its diagram marks the "overflow relief gully, property sewer, inspection shaft, rising shaft, and property connection" as the owner's.
If the blockage turns out to be in its main, Water Corporation says "We will pay the plumber a standard fee for locating a blockage." That fee goes to the plumber; it isn't an amount you're charged or refunded.
TasWater
TasWater describes the owner's section as "the pipe from the connection point to the house", which is "(usually at the inspection opening)" the "private service line" and "the customer's responsibility."
For a blockage, TasWater says "the first step is to call your plumber." It will consider reimbursing the plumbing work when the blockage is found to be in its own system.
Yarra Valley Water, Unitywater and everyone else
Yarra Valley Water and Unitywater each publish more than one description of where their part begins, and the descriptions don't agree. Until they do, we won't quote either. Each company can confirm the boundary for your property.
Some things they do say clearly. Yarra Valley Water: "If the blockage is your responsibility, you'll have to arrange and pay for a licensed plumber", and it "will not provide a reimbursement for internal pipe repairs." Unitywater says it "does not conduct private plumbing repairs", and its blocked sewer identification fee is claimed by the plumber: "only the plumber can claim and not the customer."
We haven't verified the boundary for Greater Western Water, Barwon Water, Urban Utilities, SA Water, Icon Water or Power and Water. If you're with one of them, or any company not covered here, ring it and ask where your part ends.
If your sewer blocks
Stop using water
No flushing, showers or washing until it's cleared. Every litre has to go somewhere.
Look at the gully outside
If the overflow relief gully is overflowing, the blockage is in the line past it. Keep people away from the spill.
Call a licensed plumber
A drain specialist can find where the blockage sits and whose pipe it's in.
Get it reported if it's the company's
If it's in the water company's pipe, the plumber should report it to the company from the job. Most refunds depend on that call.
Keep the paperwork
Hold on to the invoice and the plumber's notes on where the blockage was. You or the plumber may need them for a claim.
What we would do
Before paying for big work near the boundary or under the footpath, ring your water company and ask where your part ends at your address. When a drain specialist clears a blockage near the line, ask them to tell you plainly which side it was on, and to report it there and then if it was the company's. That one call is what most refund claims hang on, and it's easy to forget once the water's running again.