Brookvale facts that matter for plumbing
A named flood hotspot
Northern Beaches Council's Manly Lagoon floodplain risk management study and plan (October 2018) lists Brookvale among four flood hotspot locations in the catchment.
The creek and the mall
The same plan says Warringah Mall sits on the line of Brookvale Creek. When the drains there run over capacity, water can flow overland through the area.
Apartments and renters
At the 2021 Census, 63.5% of the suburb's occupied homes were flats or apartments, 16.2% townhouses or semis and 18.3% houses. 44.4% were rented.
Look up your address
Council's Flood Hazard Map shows flood prone land across the Northern Beaches, and you can zoom to a property by typing its address.
How flash flooding happens here
Northern Beaches Council describes flash flooding as heavy rain pushing creeks over their banks or overwhelming the stormwater network so it overflows. It arrives with little or no warning and drains away fairly quickly.
Brookvale Creek is one of three main creeks feeding Manly Lagoon, with Burnt Bridge Creek and Manly Creek, and the lagoon also takes water from many stormwater drains. Check the Flood Hazard Map before lowering a floor, adding a basement or moving drains.
Running a business in Brookvale?
Sydney Water treats businesses such as restaurants, takeaways, childcare centres, mechanics, car washes and laundromats as commercial customers. Most need formal approval to discharge trade wastewater, applied for through Sydney Water Tap in, unless their process is a low-risk deemed process.
Most also have to install and maintain a grease trap or other pre-treatment, and food waste disposal units in sinks aren't allowed on business premises. A commercial plumber can tell you what a fit-out needs.
At home
For apartments and houses, Sydney Water's boundary is the same as anywhere it supplies: the private wastewater line, shared or not, is the owners' up to and including the point of connection. Slow drains are covered at blocked drains in Sydney.
Our advice for Brookvale
Fitting out a food business? Sort the trade wastewater approval and the grease trap before the plumbing goes in, not halfway through. At home, check the Flood Hazard Map before any work that lowers a floor or moves a drain. Either way, the licensed plumber lodges a Certificate of Compliance when the job is finished, and we can match you with one who does that kind of work.