Who supplies your water and sewer
ESCOSA, South Australia's essential services regulator, says homes get drinking water and sewerage either from SA Water or from a small-scale network run by a council or private provider. Most are on SA Water. If your bills come from someone else, you're likely on a small-scale network.
Your bill is the quickest answer, and it matters, because the retailer's rules decide where its pipes stop and yours start. We couldn't confirm SA Water's sewer boundary from its own pages, so ask it directly before anyone digs near the street. Our sewer pipe guide shows how much these rules differ.
After any plumbing job in SA
- The plumber must issue an electronic certificate of compliance (eCOC) for plumbing work on your property.
- It has to reach you within 7 days of the work being finished.
- It confirms the tradesperson is correctly licensed and that the work has been tested, is safe and meets Australian Standards.
- Installing or replacing a water heater, sanitary plumbing and drainage, and backflow device work are all covered.
Licences in South Australia
Anyone who contracts to do plumbing or drainage in SA needs a contractor licence, and the people doing the work must be registered workers. Consumer and Business Services administers both. Get the contractor licence number before work starts and check it with Consumer and Business Services; our licence check guide has more.
Replacing a water heater in SA
| What SA's plumbing rules say | |
|---|---|
| Tempering valve | Needed on a replacement only where a temperature control device was already in place. Every new or replacement solar water heater needs one. |
| Relief valves | Every new or replacement unvented storage heater gets new temperature/pressure relief and expansion control valves, and their drain lines must not be joined. |
| Bathroom temperature | Hot water at fixtures used for personal hygiene is capped at 50°C in a home. |
Mount Gambier facts
Mostly houses
At the 2021 Census, 77.6% of occupied homes in the City of Mount Gambier council area were separate houses, 13.6% townhouses or semis and 8.5% flats or apartments.
More renters than the state
31.6% were rented, against 27.6% across South Australia.
Discounts on efficient hot water
REPS is open to every South Australian whatever their energy retailer, and upgrading household water heating is one of its activities. Federal STCs can lower the price of an eligible heat pump or solar system until the scheme ends in 2030; see STCs explained.
What we would do
Before a Mount Gambier plumber starts, get two things: their contractor licence number, and, for anything near the boundary, your water retailer's answer on whose pipe it is. Then expect the eCOC within a week of the finish. If it doesn't arrive, ask for it, because it's your record that the work was tested and done by a licensed tradesperson.