The combined system
The City of Launceston's 2019 Stormwater System Management Plan says the older, central parts of the city were built with a combined stormwater and sewage drainage system. It covers about a third of Launceston's urban catchment area.
TasWater owns and operates those combined pipes, while the City has legal responsibility for the stormwater service in that area. TasWater's own guidance matches: stormwater is normally a council matter, but a combined network is TasWater's responsibility.
So if you're in the combined area and the drains back up in heavy rain, TasWater is the first call. Outside it, stormwater flooding goes to the City of Launceston, which has 440 km of stormwater pipe across its urban area, by its 2019 count.
TasWater's pipes and yours
TasWater looks after its pipes from the main to the connection point on your property. On the sewer side, the pipe from there to the house, usually beginning at the inspection opening, is the private service line, and it's yours. On the water side, the connection point is the meter, or the first valve nearest the boundary.
For a sewer blockage, call a plumber first. If they find the fault is in TasWater's system, contact TasWater: plumbers need its permission to work on its pipes, and TasWater only considers reimbursing work it authorised. Our sewer pipe guide compares water companies.
Launceston details that matter
Four supply systems
TasWater supplies Launceston through four drinking water systems: Distillery Creek, North Esk, South Esk and West Tamar, the last two drawing on Lake Trevallyn.
Frosty mornings
TasWater says sub-zero temperatures are not uncommon in Tasmania's colder months, freezing water in meters and above-ground pipes. Covering the meter before a cold night helps.
One in three homes rented
At the 2021 Census, 33.8% of occupied homes in the City of Launceston's area were rented, against 26.4% across Tasmania. 80.2% were separate houses.
The overflow gully is the owner's
TasWater says owners must have a properly designed, working overflow relief gully and must never cover it. All costs are the owner's.
Licences in Tasmania
Tasmania licenses plumbing businesses and plumbers separately. A business needs a plumbing contractor licence to carry on as a contractor, and under section 38(2) of the Occupational Licensing Act 2005, nobody may represent that someone is prepared to contract for plumbing unless that someone holds a contractor licence of the right class. The plumber doing the work holds a practitioner licence.
The same Act covers gas-fitting work. Ask for the contractor licence number and the practitioner's name, and check both on the state's licence register. Our licence guide explains how.
Hot water and gas
When a hot water heater is replaced in Tasmania, a temperature control device has to go in with it, unless it's one unit in a bank of heaters. Launceston appears among the Economic Regulator's gas distribution licence maps; for gas cooktops, heaters and hot water, see gas fitters in Launceston.
For other jobs, our main pages cover blocked drains, burst pipes, hot water and stormwater.
What we would do
If your drains overflow when it rains, first find out whether your street is in the combined area, because that decides whether TasWater or the City handles it. For an ordinary sewer blockage, call a drain specialist, keep the overflow gully clear, and make sure the plumber stops and calls TasWater if the fault is on its side of the connection point. On frosty nights, cover the meter.