Merewether facts behind the job
A mix of homes
The 2021 Census found 60.9% of occupied homes in the suburb were separate houses, 19.7% flats or apartments and 19.2% semis, terraces or townhouses. A third, 33.3%, were rented.
A high hazard floodway
City of Newcastle classes the Morgan-Selwyn Street floodway in Merewether as a high hazard flood precinct. In a flood bigger than the one-in-10-year event, it found private properties could be badly damaged.
Creeks turned into concrete
Merewether is inside the City's Throsby, Styx and Cottage Creek flood study area. The City says most creeks there are now open concrete channels and drains, and their capacity is exceeded in moderate and large storms.
Shared sewer lines in units and townhouses
In a block of units, the sewer can run through one common line before it reaches Hunter Water's main. Hunter Water says it doesn't own or maintain common sanitary drainage, so a blockage there is for the owners to sort out between them.
If your building has a strata manager, tell them before booking a plumber yourself, or two plumbers may turn up. If you rent, Hunter Water's advice is to go to the managing agent or landlord, who arranges a licensed plumber.
Flash floods and your stormwater
The City found that fixing the worst of the Morgan-Selwyn Street risk would mean buying 11 private properties, and it doesn't have the funds. Instead it relies on its Flash Flood Alert Service, flood signs and education. Signing up for alerts is a sensible first step if you live near it.
For your own block, a City of Newcastle Flood Information Certificate gives the flood behaviour on the property and the minimum floor levels for building plans, using flood data released in mid 2023. Ask for one before raising or rebuilding drains, and remember the City says flood information can be updated at any time.
Trees near the drains
Trees on private land are the owner's responsibility in Newcastle, and pruning, removal or development near them must follow the City's Newcastle Urban Forest Technical Manual. Public trees are the City's to maintain. If roots are in a Merewether sewer line, read tree roots in drains before deciding between clearing, relining and removal.
What we would do
In a strata building, find out first whether the blocked or leaking pipe serves one unit or several. Hunter Water won't maintain a shared private line, so agree with the other owners on who books the drain specialist. For a house near a floodway, get the flood certificate before any drainage upgrade, so the new pipes and pits suit the levels the City expects.
Other pages for Merewether
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