Essendon, in plumbing terms
A real mix of homes
At the 2021 Census, 47.2% of occupied homes in the suburb of Essendon were separate houses, 19.6% townhouses or semis and 33.0% flats or apartments. 35.6% of homes were rented.
Who owns which drain
Moonee Valley's fact sheet: owners manage pipes, gutters and drains on private property, Council the local network, and Melbourne Water the main drains and waterways such as the Moonee Ponds Creek.
Built for the regular storm
Council's underground drains are generally designed for storms up to a 1 in 10-year event, one with a 10% chance in any given year.
Heritage study
Moonee Valley's Heritage Study 2023, which looked at Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war places, found the most properties in Ascot Vale, Essendon and Moonee Ponds.
A drain that overflows every time it rains
Council's own advice is that a drain flooding regularly is likely to have a local problem, such as a blockage. Widespread flooding in a major storm, beyond what the drains were designed for, is a different thing.
If water backs up at your downpipes or yard pit in ordinary rain, start with the private pipes, which are yours to clear. A blocked drain specialist can find where it stops. If the fault is in Council's network, report it to Moonee Valley.
A draft stormwater flood map came out in 2022 and Melbourne Water is updating the model, so there is no final map to point to yet.
Old drains and easements
Some older drains cross private land under Council easements. One Moonee Valley notice dealt with an easement over a bluestone drain at the back of an Essendon property. If a drain or pit runs through your yard, ask Council whether it is theirs before paying anyone to clear it.
Which water company is yours?
Check your water bill: Melbourne has three water retailers, and Essendon doesn't appear on South East Water's or Yarra Valley Water's supply lists. Don't guess. The company on the bill decides where its sewer pipe ends and yours begins, and our guide to who owns the sewer pipe explains how that differs.
With more than a third of homes rented, Victoria's rental standard matters here. From 1 March 2027, a rental hot water system that permanently fails and can't be fixed must make way for an efficient heat pump or an electric-boosted solar unit. See hot water in Melbourne.
What we would do
Watch where the water goes in the next ordinary shower of rain. If one downpipe or pit overflows while the street drains cope, the blockage is most likely on your side, which fits Council's advice, and that's a drain specialist's job. If the street itself is flooding, it's Council's or Melbourne Water's. Either way, keep your water bill handy so the plumber knows whose sewer rules apply, and send us the job.