A building site next door is flooding my Wollert yard. What can I do?

Whittlesea says builders must set up temporary protections when a house has no gutters or downpipes yet. Raise it with the builder; if flooding continues, Council says you may need to take legal action.

Who looks after the pipe under my Wollert driveway?

You do. Whittlesea says owners are responsible for drainage infrastructure on their driveway, including pipes and culverts.

Plumbers in Wollert: new estates, downpipes and stormwater

Plumbers in Wollert Built fast, still building.

Wollert is in the City of Whittlesea and on Yarra Valley Water's supply list, and Council expects it to keep growing for decades. With so much building going on, stormwater between neighbours is worth understanding. Send us the details and we'll match you with a licence-checked plumber who specialises in that kind of work.

Wollert in four facts

Young buyers

At the 2021 Census the suburb's median age was 30 and 62.6% of homes were owned with a mortgage. Only 11.2% were owned outright.

Houses first

87.9% of occupied homes in the suburb of Wollert were separate houses, 9.9% townhouses or semis and 1.9% flats.

Decades of growth

Whittlesea forecasts Wollert among its three fastest-growing precincts from 2026 to 2054, with 34,897 more people. Council still lists it in its rural north.

A plan for the precinct

The Wollert Precinct Structure Plan is the main plan guiding the precinct's development, backed by a Development Contributions Plan.

When the house next door is a building site

If a new house has no gutters or downpipes yet, Whittlesea says the builder must set up temporary protections so water doesn't flood nearby properties. If they don't and your yard floods, Council says you might need to take legal action.

If the trouble is a neighbour's new rainwater tank that isn't connected to the underground stormwater, who you contact depends on whether their house is new or already existing. Council lists gutters, downpipes, paving and rainwater tanks that aren't properly managed among the causes of stormwater problems.

Your stormwater and your driveway

Owners look after the drainage on their own driveway, pipes and culverts included. For an existing property, Council's property/stormwater information report shows the stormwater point of discharge and the depth and boundary offset of Council's drains. Projects that involve stormwater work may need drainage plans and computations reviewed and approved by Council.

Adding a rainwater tank or a garden drain? Have the plumber connect the overflow to the underground stormwater rather than letting it spill across the yard.

Water and sewer

Wollert sits in Yarra Valley Water's Epping sampling area. If a sewer blockage is on your side, you arrange and pay for a licensed plumber, and Yarra Valley Water doesn't reimburse internal pipe repairs. It owns the meter and stop tap; from the meter to the house, the pipes are the owner's.

More help: blocked drains in Melbourne, hot water and leak detection.

What we would do

If a neighbouring building site is sending water into your yard, photograph it and raise it with the builder first, then Council. On your own block, check every downpipe is connected underground and the driveway pits are clear before the wet months. Ask for Council's stormwater report before adding a tank, shed or extension.