Coolum facts for a plumbing job
Mostly houses
At the 2021 Census, 69.5% of occupied homes in the suburb of Coolum Beach were separate houses and 15.9% flats or apartments. 28.7% were rented.
Units on the beachfront
Sunshine Coast Council's planning scheme says multi unit buildings and tourist accommodation sit mainly on the Coolum Beach beachfront, and to a lesser extent at Point Arkwright and Mount Coolum.
A wide local plan area
The Coolum local plan covers about 1,880 hectares, from Point Arkwright and Yaroomba to Mount Coolum and the Coolum Industry Park. Stumers Creek runs through it.
On the network
Urban zoned land in the local plan area is connected, or able to be connected, to reticulated water and sewerage, which Unitywater supplies.
Unitywater's leak checks
Leaks on private property, hidden ones included, are the owner's to find and fix. Unitywater's meter test: turn off everything that uses water, photograph the meter including the red numbers, leave the meter tap on, and check again after at least an hour.
For a toilet, put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern, or dry toilet paper at the back of the bowl, and watch. For a pool, stand a bucket of pool water on a step, mark both water levels, and compare after 24 hours. If the pool drops faster, see our pool leaks page.
Once a concealed leak is repaired, you may be eligible for Unitywater's Concealed Leak Allowance. It offers nothing for other leaks or for the cost of the plumbing repair. A leak detection specialist can find the leak and give you the paperwork.
Coastal rain
The Bureau of Meteorology's Sunshine Coast Airport station, on the coast, averages just 0.5 days a year at or below 2°C, so frost is rarely the worry there. Rain is. February averages 214.8 mm, and 16.7 days a year bring 25 mm or more, which is when gutters, downpipes and stormwater lines show their faults.
Testable backflow devices
Sunshine Coast Council says the owner of a testable backflow prevention device must have it installed by a licensed plumber, registered with Council, and inspected or tested every year by an endorsed licensed plumber. Council keeps the register. Our backflow testing page explains the test.
What we would do
If the water bill jumps, run Unitywater's meter test before booking anyone, then check the obvious places it suggests: toilet cisterns, garden taps, irrigation caps and jets, and a plumbed fridge. If the meter still moves with all of that off, the leak is hidden, and a leak detection specialist is the next call, not a shovel.