Your water pipes and Shoalhaven Water's
Shoalhaven Water is responsible for every water main in the Shoalhaven, plus hydrant points, water meters and repairs to your service line or connection. Damage to your internal service pipe that Shoalhaven Water didn't cause is the property owner's responsibility.
Found a leak inside the property? Shoalhaven Water's advice is to call a plumber straight away. You pay for every litre that passes through the meter, so a slow hidden leak shows up on the bill. Keep the meter easy to reach and report any damage to it.
A blocked sewer in Nowra
Check the warning signs
Shoalhaven Water lists drains that are slow to empty and gurgling noises among the early signs.
Overflowing sewage? Report it now
Shoalhaven Water takes overflow calls around the clock. Keep children and pets away from the spill.
In the main: Shoalhaven Water's job
If the blockage is in Council's main, Shoalhaven Water clears it at its own expense.
Inside your property: a plumber's job
If the problem is within the property, Shoalhaven Water will advise you to call a plumber. A drain specialist can find it and clear it.
Tree roots and old earthenware
Shoalhaven Water illustrates its blockage advice with an earthenware pipe choked by tree roots. Where roots have damaged pipes within your property, it says it's your responsibility to get a plumber to remove them and fix the pipe. Root damage also lets stormwater into the sewer, which can overload it in heavy rain. See tree roots in drains.
Nowra and the wider Shoalhaven
Nearly half of Nowra rents
At the 2021 Census, 45.8% of occupied homes in the suburb of Nowra were rented, against 32.6% across NSW. 81.2% were separate houses. Tenants should report leaks and blockages to the agent in writing.
Many homes empty on Census night
Across Shoalhaven City Council's area, 23.1% of private dwellings were unoccupied on Census night 2021. A leak in an empty house can run with nobody there to see it.
A mild coastal climate
Nowra RAN Air Station AWS, 2000 to 2026, averages 1.2 days a year at or below 2°C and 1022.8 mm of rain.
Septic and aerated systems
Septic tanks, absorption systems and aerated wastewater treatment systems are mostly on rural properties. Shoalhaven Water says they need cleanouts to keep working, that aerated systems may need one every few years, and it takes cleanout requests. Repairs to tanks, pumps and pipework are plumbing work: see septic systems.
Paperwork you should get
NSW requires a contractor licence for plumbing and drainage of any value, and you can confirm one on the Public Register. Drainage jobs come with a Sewer Service Diagram, and finished work with a Certificate of Compliance; the plumber must hand you a copy. Our NSW page explains both. Other specialists: hot water, leak detection, emergency plumbing.
What we would do
Read your water meter at night and again in the morning with every tap off. If it has moved, you have a leak on your side, and a leak detection specialist will find it faster than digging. For a sewer blockage, report overflows to Shoalhaven Water first; if it says the problem is inside your property, then book the plumber.