Sydney Water left a Wastewater Fix notice. What happens next?

Sydney Water is checking where stormwater gets into its wastewater system. It contacts owners in advance if it needs to enter a property, checks may include smoke testing private pipes, and your water and wastewater services keep running.

Who fixes a blocked sewer pipe in my Penrith unit block?

In most NSW strata schemes, pipes in boundary walls and under the floor are the owners corporation's, and internal pipes and fixtures are the lot owner's. Check your strata plan and by-laws. In an emergency you can call a plumber yourself; keep photos and the plumber's written notes.

Plumbers in Penrith: overland flow, Wastewater Fix and units

Plumbers in Penrith Rain in the sewer, water on the street.

Penrith's centre has its own overland flow flood plan, and Sydney Water has listed Penrith for Wastewater Fix work to find where rain gets into the sewer. Penrith City Council looks after local drainage and flood studies. Tell us what's going on and we'll find you a licence-checked local plumber who specialises in drains, sewer faults or strata plumbing.

Penrith facts for a plumbing job

Penrith City Council

Every part of the suburb is in the Penrith council area, so Penrith City Council's drainage and flood information is what you'll be working from.

Mostly units and renters

At the 2021 Census, 43.4% of the suburb's occupied homes were flats or apartments, 36.0% separate houses and 20.4% townhouses or semis. 60.2% were rented, against 32.6% across NSW.

A flood plan for the CBD

Council adopted the Penrith CBD Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan on 23 March 2020. Its study area covers about 340 hectares south of the railway line, between The Northern Road, Jamison Road and Mulgoa Road.

Wastewater Fix crews

Sydney Water's update of 4 December 2025 lists Penrith and South Penrith among suburbs where its West Region Delivery Team will work over the next 12 months.

If Sydney Water knocks

Wastewater Fix looks for places where stormwater gets into the sewer. Sydney Water says directly affected owners and residents get a letterbox notice, and it will contact you in advance if it needs to come onto your property. Inspections include visual checks and smoke testing of private wastewater and stormwater pipes. Your water and sewer keep working while it happens.

Inspectors look for downpipes running into an overflow relief gully or a wastewater pipe, and for gullies that are damaged or too close to the ground. Those pipes are on your side of the point of connection, so repairs are the owner's to arrange.

Overland flow south of the railway

The CBD plan builds on Council's CBD Catchment Overland Flow Flood Study, which looks at rain running across the ground when drains can't take it. Further south, the Peach Tree and Lower Surveyors Creeks plan, adopted on 30 June 2025, covers South Penrith, Jamisontown and parts of Penrith.

Council's 2006 citywide overview of overland flow found 40 creek systems that will each need a study and plan. If water crosses your block in storms, ask Council what its studies show before anyone lays new stormwater pipes.

Plumbing in a unit block

Under NSW strata rules, in most cases you look after pipes inside internal walls and your own fixtures, and the owners corporation looks after pipes in boundary walls and under the floor. A bathroom renovation counts as a major renovation in strata because of the waterproofing, so it needs a special resolution at a general meeting. See bathroom plumbing in Sydney.

What we would do

If water comes up through your gully whenever it rains, don't assume Sydney Water's program will find it. Ask a drainer to check the gully's height and trace where each downpipe goes. A downpipe plumbed into the sewer is a common, fixable cause of wet-weather overflows. We'll match you with a drain specialist who handles this kind of fault finding.