Livingstone Shire runs the water and sewer
Livingstone Shire Council has been a registered provider of water and sewerage services since its listing in the Queensland Government Gazette on 17 January 2014 (SPID 556).
Its procedure on sewer blockages splits the pipe at the point of connection, the house connection branch on the council's standard drawing. The owner maintains the private drain up to that point and replaces it if needed. Council maintains the sewerage system up to and including it.
That matches a state law the procedure quotes: section 70(1) of the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 makes owners take all reasonable steps to keep the plumbing and drainage on their premises in good condition.
Yeppoon facts that shape a plumbing job
Where the sewer reaches
The Yeppoon sewerage system serves Yeppoon, Pacific Heights, Meikleville Hill, Barlows Hill, Cooee Bay, Taranganba, Lammermoor Beach, Statue Bay, Mulambin Waters and Rosslyn Bay. The Capricorn Coast's two schemes, Yeppoon and Emu Park, have about 10,000 connections.
Septic beyond it
Council says most rural areas are unserviced because connecting them is uneconomic, so properties there use septic or an on-site treatment plant. See our septic systems page.
Water from two sources
Capricorn Coast water comes from Water Park Creek, topped up from the Fitzroy River through the Rockhampton to Yeppoon Pipeline.
Long-held houses
At the 2021 Census, 88.4% of occupied homes in the Livingstone council area were separate houses, and 36.9% were owned outright, well above Queensland's 29.1%. Only 21.4% were rented.
Blocked sewer? Council's rules in short
Council doesn't clear blockages in private drains, so if the blockage looks like it's in yours, you appoint a licensed plumber. If that plumber finds it's in council's system, they must tell council immediately, and council clears it.
The plumber can then be reimbursed for a maximum of one standard hour, up to $250. If they got it wrong and the fault is in your drain after all, council recovers its costs from the owner at its private works rates. Our Yeppoon blocked drains page covers when council will come out itself.
Meters and water notices
Council reads meters every quarter and sends the water usage notice to the owner. If you think a meter is wrong, an owner or occupier can ask for a Water Meter Verification Test at their own cost; if it fails, the fee is refunded, the meter replaced at council's cost and the notice adjusted.
A steady rise in use with nothing new in the house can mean a leak past the meter. That's a job for a plumber who does leak detection.
Checking a Yeppoon plumber
Council's procedure defines a licensed plumber as one holding a QBCC Plumbing and Drainage Trade Contractor Licence. Search for the business on the QBCC licensee register and for the worker on the occupational plumber and drainer register, both in myQBCC. Our licence check guide has more.
QBCC licensees must show their licensed name and licence number in their advertising, websites included. For notifiable work, they register the job with the QBCC within 10 business days of invoicing.
What we would do
First, find out whether your property is on the sewer or on septic: the locality list above is a good start, and council can confirm it. If you're sewered and a drain blocks, book a plumber who clears drains every week and agree they'll stop and ring council if it's in the main. Keep the plumber's findings, and look them up in myQBCC before they start.