Hunter Water, and where its part stops
Hunter Water's supply network covers Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Port Stephens and Dungog, plus small parts of Singleton. It also takes the wastewater away.
Sewer. You maintain, repair and replace the sewer pipes and fittings on your land, right up to where they join Hunter Water's system. The boundary trap and the inspection shaft count as yours. Hunter Water places the point of connection at the arm of the junction on its main, inside the customer's block.
Water. Your pipes begin where your system meets Hunter Water's main. As a service, Hunter Water may look after the stretch up to and including the path tap and the meter, but only for the first metre of pipe inside your boundary.
Shared lines. Hunter Water says it does not own or maintain common sanitary drainage. In a block of units, a shared private sewer line belongs to the owners, not the water company. Our sewer pipe guide compares the companies.
Who to call first
- Sewage coming up through the sewer shaft in your yard: Hunter Water, before anyone else. It says an overflowing shaft may mean a problem in its own system.
- Slow or gurgling drains while the shaft is clear: a drain specialist. The blockage is probably in your pipes.
- A blocked drain or pit in the street: City of Newcastle, which takes reports of its drains that need clearing.
- Water running onto your block from a neighbour's downpipes or driveway: the neighbour, first. The City only investigates after reasonable private steps have failed.
Newcastle facts that shape a plumbing job
Storms arrive fast
City of Newcastle says flooding affects up to one third of all properties in Newcastle, sometimes with less than an hour between the storm starting and the water rising. It compares the 2007 Pasha Bulker flood to a 1% flash flood.
Gutters and pits belong to you
The City makes owners responsible for all stormwater drainage on their property: pipes, gutters, downpipes and gully pits. That water must go to a legal point of discharge and never into the sewer.
More renters than the state average
At the 2021 Census, 36.6% of occupied homes in the City of Newcastle council area were rented, against 32.6% across NSW. 69.0% were separate houses, 16.2% townhouses, terraces or semis and 14.2% flats or apartments. Hunter Water tells tenants to ask the landlord or agent to book the plumber.
Soft water
Hunter Water's own table puts median hardness at 55.9 mg/L from its Grahamstown and Tomago Sandbeds plant and 49.0 mg/L from Dungog (June 2020 to May 2025), far below the 200 mg/L mark.
Licences and paperwork in NSW
Plumbing, drainage and gas fitting are specialist work in NSW. A contractor licence is needed for any of it, however small the job. Look the business up on the NSW Public Register: it shows licence numbers, categories, expiry dates and any conditions, suspensions or cancellations.
Around Newcastle and the Hunter, the paperwork goes to Building Commission NSW through its MyInspections system. A Notice of Work goes in before most jobs; emergencies and minor works, such as swapping an existing hot water system, are exempt. Every job ends with a Certificate of Compliance, and whoever arranged the work must be given a copy.
Drainage jobs also need a sewer service diagram. The NSW Government says these diagrams are not available for purchase in the Newcastle region, so file the one your drainer hands over. Our guides cover checking a plumber's licence and compliance certificates.
Hot water rules that apply here
Replace a hot water heater in NSW and a temperature control device has to go in with it, even for a like-for-like swap. Discounts for heat pumps and solar are on our Newcastle hot water page.
Newcastle specialists and suburbs
Choose the page that fits the job: hot water, blocked drains, an emergency plumber, pipe relining or a gas fitter.
Area pages cover Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley, plus Charlestown, Toronto, Cardiff, Wallsend, Merewether, Raymond Terrace and Medowie. Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens have their own councils and their own stormwater rules.
What we would do
Find your sewer shaft before you need it: Hunter Water says it usually sits at the lowest point of the block and is often hidden under paving or garden beds. If it fills or overflows, call Hunter Water before paying anyone. For work on your side, choose a plumber who specialises in that job, check the licence on the Public Register first, and keep the Certificate of Compliance and any drainage diagram with your house papers.