Oakleigh facts for a plumbing job
A mix of homes
At the 2021 Census, 61.9% of occupied homes in the suburb of Oakleigh were separate houses, 25.7% flats or apartments and 12.3% semis or townhouses. 34.5% were rented.
Two water retailers
Oakleigh appears on both retailers' suburb lists, which follow water sampling areas rather than suburb lines. Melbourne has three water retailers, and your bill tells you which one serves your home.
Your drain, up to Council's pipe
Monash makes owners responsible for every private drain within and from their property, right up to where it joins Council's network.
Low spots pool
VICSES's Monash guide says urban development stops rain soaking in, so it pools in low-lying areas, and areas developed before the 1970s are generally more likely to flood in an extreme storm.
Whose drain is blocked?
Monash looks after the kerb and channel, the drainage pipes and pits in the street, and most easements. A blocked street pit is one to report to Council. Anything between your house and the Council pipe is yours, and Monash's own advice for a private drain problem is to see a registered plumber.
Council also lists tree roots among the causes of blocked drains. A blocked drains specialist can clear them, and a camera inspection shows whether the pipe is cracked where they got in.
How Monash responds to flooding
Council's standard is to act when water directly affects the inside of a home. Flash flooding comes with little warning and doesn't last long, but VICSES says it can do severe local damage. Clear gutters, downpipes and yard pits are the simplest protection you have, and any new private drain has to connect to Council's in line with the Legal Point of Discharge.
Apartments and the sewer
A quarter of Oakleigh's homes are flats or apartments, where pipes are often shared and the owners corporation may be responsible for them. For the sewer itself, the two retailers draw their boundaries differently. If your bill says South East Water, its part ends at the inspection opening near the boundary. If it says Yarra Valley Water, ask it to confirm where its part ends for your property.
What we would do
Before any sewer job, read your water bill and note the retailer, because the rules on who pays differ between the two. For stormwater, check whether the trouble is in Council's street pit or in your own line. If it's yours, send us the job, and only the plumber who takes it gets your contact details.