Two possible retailers
The Rural City of Murray Bridge holds a water industry retail licence on the register kept by ESCOSA, South Australia's regulator. ESCOSA says small-scale networks run by councils or private providers serve more than 110,000 South Australians, while most homes are on SA Water.
The register doesn't say which streets the council's licence covers, so look at who sends your water or sewerage bill. Ask that retailer where its pipe ends before a plumber digs near the boundary.
Murray Bridge facts
Lots of rentals
At the 2021 Census, 39.8% of occupied homes in the suburb of Murray Bridge were rented, against 27.6% across South Australia.
Mainly separate houses
85.0% were separate houses, 13.4% townhouses or semis and 0.6% flats or apartments.
SA drain rules a plumber works to
South Australia's variation to the plumbing code allows the network operator's inspection shaft or point to sit outside or within the property boundary, so don't assume it's at the fence line. It also says inspection openings that needn't come to the surface must not sit under paving, concrete or similar finished surfaces.
Old clay drains get specific treatment: vitrified clay pipes can't be used above ground, or for drains under buildings unless they've been renovated by cured in-place pipe relining. Our pipe relining page explains how that works.
Stormwater and sewer are separate
- Kitchen, laundry, toilet and bathroom drains connect to the sewer or a septic system.
- Roof downpipes and other outside drains go to stormwater.
- Stormwater generally flows untreated to creeks, rivers and the sea, according to the EPA.
- SA's Water Quality Policy prohibits polluting the stormwater system.
Paperwork and licences
The Office of the Technical Regulator administers plumbing and drainage in SA. After plumbing work on your property, the plumber must give you an electronic certificate of compliance within 7 days of finishing. Contractors need a licence and their workers need registration, both through Consumer and Business Services; see licence checks.
Hot water
Replacing a water heater? SA's code requires a temperature control device only where one was already fitted, except for solar, which always needs one. Discounts can come from STCs, the federal scheme that runs to 2030, and from REPS, which any South Australian can use. Our STCs page explains how certificates lower the price.
What we would do
Find your last water bill before calling anyone. If it's from the council, ask the council where its sewer responsibility ends; if it's from SA Water, ask SA Water. Pass that answer to the plumber along with any inspection point you can find, which in SA might be inside your fence or out on the verge.