Brighton facts for a plumbing job
Summer brings the downpours
Bayside says rainfall has historically been higher in December and January, causing localised flooding across Bayside, and that storms are expected to become more intense.
A bigger drain for Brighton and Elwood
Bayside joined other partners to win Victorian Government funding to increase the capacity of the Elwood Diversion Drain, to cut flood risk in the Elwood and Brighton area.
Many homes owned outright
At the 2021 Census, 45.1% of occupied homes in the suburb of Brighton were owned outright (Victoria 32.2%). 57.2% were separate houses, 22.4% townhouses, terraces or semis and 19.8% flats or apartments.
Large trees need a permit
Where no planning permit applies, Bayside's local law still needs a permit to remove or lop a private tree over 155 centimetres around at 1 metre above the ground.
Before the storm season
Bayside's storm checklist reads like a plumbing job sheet: clear roof gutters, downpipes and drainage pits, and check the private pipes between your property and the roadside kerb. If you can't do it yourself, it suggests a plumber.
A camera run along the line to the kerb shows cracks and roots before a January downpour finds them. Our CCTV drain inspection page explains what you see.
Sewer: South East Water's side and yours
South East Water looks after the sewer as far as the inspection opening. Its recommended method is to rod from the boundary trap towards that point and call South East Water if the line is still blocked there. Only South East Water and its approved contractors may work on its pipes, so a plumber who reaches its side should stop and refer. Renters should contact the rental provider as soon as they can.
Roots and big trees
Bayside's local law covers trees over 155 cm around (for a multi-trunk tree, add the four largest trunks) and anything on the Significant Tree Register. A Heritage Overlay can add tree controls too, where its schedule says so.
Root pruning is skilled work: Bayside expects an arborist pruning roots to hold at least an AQF Certificate IV in arboriculture. If roots are cracking a pipe near a protected tree, ask the plumber and arborist to plan the job together. Our tree roots page explains what a plumber checks.
Other Brighton jobs
See blocked drains in Melbourne, an emergency plumber or hot water.
What we would do
Book the drain check in spring, not in the middle of a January storm. Ask the drain specialist to camera the stormwater line to the kerb and the sewer as far as the inspection opening in one visit. And before anyone cuts roots near a large tree, check Bayside's permit and bring in a qualified arborist.