Raymond Terrace facts for plumbing
Above the state's renting rate
At the 2021 Census, 39.5% of the suburb's occupied homes were rented, against 32.6% across NSW, and only 26.1% were owned outright. 83.2% were separate houses and 15.7% semis, terraces or townhouses.
A named floodway
The NSW Government's Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme has control and diversion banks on the Raymond Terrace floodway, built to manage the speed, direction and depth of floodwater.
Its own treatment works
Hunter Water's Raymond Terrace works takes sewage from Raymond Terrace, Medowie and part of Heatherbrae, and an upgrade is under way to add capacity and improve the treated water it releases.
Renting and something's leaking or blocked
Tell the agent or landlord
Hunter Water's advice to tenants is to contact the managing agent or landlord, who engages a licensed plumber. Put the request in writing and note the date.
Check the sewer shaft if drains back up
If sewage is coming out of the inspection shaft in the yard, stop flushing, keep people and pets away and contact Hunter Water directly. Its main may be the cause, and that doesn't wait for the agent.
Turn off the water for a burst
The path tap at the water meter, usually at the front of the property, shuts off the supply. It's not the garden tap. If it has no handle, you may need a licensed plumber.
Owners: the sewer and the floodplain
If you own, the sewer pipes on your land are yours to maintain, repair and replace, all the way to where they join Hunter Water's system. That includes the boundary trap and the inspection shaft. Clearing a blockage on your side is at your expense.
Planning drainage work near a levee or within a declared floodplain? The flood scheme requires proposed works in, on or next to its levees, fences included, to be referred to the state's water department first. For flood maps and local controls, the NSW Government sends residents to Port Stephens Council's flooding page.
What we would do
Tenants: report it to the agent straight away and in writing, and call Hunter Water yourself only if sewage is coming out of the shaft. Owners: find the shaft and the path tap now, before a flood or a burst, and check with Port Stephens Council before any drainage work near a levee or floodway.
Nearby pages
See the Port Stephens page, Medowie, blocked drains, hot water or an emergency plumber. Only the plumber who takes your job gets your contact details.