Inner West Council facts that shape a job
An old council area
Council began as the Municipality of Marrickville in 1861 and later took in Leichhardt, Stanmore, Balmain and Ashfield. It covers 25 localities.
Terraces and units
Across Council's area at the 2021 Census, 27.1% of occupied homes were semis, terraces or townhouses and 42.4% were flats or apartments. Only 28.8% were separate houses, and 43.8% were rented.
Rain arrives fast
Council says most of its flooding is flash flooding, usually within 6 hours of the rain. It puts part of that down to the age of the existing stormwater system.
Roots need a permit
Under Council's development control plan, tree root pruning needs a Tree Works Permit, as does cutting a branch more than 100mm across.
Which way your stormwater runs
Council draws the line at New Canterbury Road and Enmore Road. North of it, stormwater heads for the Parramatta River and Sydney Harbour. South of it, everything drains to the Cooks River. Council counts 9 primary catchments and has finished overland flood studies for 8.
Water arrives three ways: overland through streets and yards, over creek banks, or pushed up by tides along the foreshore. When a yard drain backs up in a downpour, the street system may be the bottleneck rather than your pipe. A stormwater plumber can test your side first, so you know which it is.
Roots, sewers and the permit question
Root pruning is the step people forget. It needs a Tree Works Permit before anyone starts.
Taking a tree out is a separate decision. Council weighs documented, continuing damage to services such as sewer or water mains where the tree is the main cause. On a heritage item or in a Heritage Conservation Area, removing a prescribed tree goes through a development application instead.
So the usual order is: clear the blockage, get a camera inspection to show where roots enter, and weigh repairs such as pipe relining before anyone touches the tree.
Where Sydney Water takes over
Your private sewer pipes are yours all the way to where they meet Sydney Water's system, and that connection point counts as yours as well. Sydney Water owns the junction itself. Where several homes share one private line, as in many unit blocks and some terrace rows, each owner on it is responsible for it.
Backed-up drain? See blocked drains in Sydney. Damp walls in a terrace or unit: leak detection. Suburb pages: Marrickville and Ashfield.
What we would do
Before the next big storm, clear your gutters and yard drain grates, and find your overflow relief gully, the grated outlet near the house that lets sewage escape outside rather than inside. If water still comes up in heavy rain, have a stormwater plumber test your pipes before blaming the street. If roots are the cause, ask Council about a permit before anyone prunes them. Then tell us the job and we'll match you with a plumber who specialises in Inner West drainage.