Canterbury facts that matter
Mostly apartments
At the 2021 Census, 62.8% of the suburb's occupied homes were flats or apartments and 29.3% separate houses. 47.9% were rented.
Cooks River floodplain
Council names the floodplains of the Cooks and Georges Rivers as the areas most at risk of flooding in its local government area. It studies stormwater (flash) flooding separately from rivers rising.
New Wastewater Fix list
Sydney Water's update of 30 September 2026 lists Canterbury among suburbs where it will work over the next 12 months on stormwater getting into the sewer. Directly affected owners get a letterbox notice.
Drains sized for normal rain
Council's gully pits and pipes carry normal rainfall and take stormwater from private land. Council says building for the biggest storms isn't economically feasible.
Getting flood information for your address
Before you rebuild a laundry, lower a driveway or replace stormwater pipes, find out what Council's flood studies show for your block. Council provides flood study extracts and flood affectation details for specific locations once you lodge a Stormwater Information Application.
It suggests calling its Infrastructure Planning Team before you send the form, so you ask for the right data. Hand what you get to the plumber who designs the new drainage.
Roots and the sewer junction
Sydney Water owns the junction where your sewer pipe joins its main, but your side, point of connection included, is yours. It also says tree roots that grow into the junction at the point of connection are the owner's to clear.
When roots keep coming back, a CCTV drain inspection shows where they get in. Our page on tree roots in drains explains the usual fixes, and pipe relining in Sydney covers lining a damaged pipe without a trench.
Other jobs
Start with blocked drains in Sydney for slow or overflowing drains, or hot water in Sydney if the problem is in the laundry cupboard rather than the yard.
Our advice for Canterbury
Ring Council's Infrastructure Planning Team before you commit to new stormwater work anywhere near the Cooks River, and get the flood data in writing. It costs you a phone call and can change where a pit or pipe should go. If a Sydney Water letter arrives, keep it with your house papers. For the job itself, we'll match you with a licence-checked drainage plumber.