Sewer pipes are only designed to remove sewage, toilet tissue and wastewater from kitchen, bathroom and laundry drains. Blockages and overflows are typically caused by:
- fats or solids being washed down household pipes
- wet wipes and other hygiene or sanitary products being flushed down toilets
- tree roots entering and growing inside pipes
- stormwater entering and overloading the sewerage network.
If a Council sewer pipe gets blocked, wastewater can back up and overflow through your Overflow Relief Gully (ORG) - a small, grated opening near your home. The ORG is designed to release sewage outside instead of inside your house if a blockage happens.
If you see sewage coming from your ORG or think there’s a blockage, call us immediately on 131 872.
Reporting quickly helps us fix the problem fast and prevent further damage. When you report a blockage or overflow, we’ll ask a few questions to determine whether the issue is your responsibility or ours:
- Property owner responsibility: blockages inside your home or in private drains.
- Our responsibility: blockages in Council-owned pipes.
If the problem is ours, we’ll attend as soon as possible to clear the blockage. After fixing the issue, we’ll clean any affected outdoor areas by removing contaminants and applying disinfectant.
Common signs of sewer blockage
- Your toilet isn’t flushing properly or is overflowing.
- Slow drainage in your sinks, shower or bath.
- Gurgling noises from your toilet or floor drains.
- The inspection opening or overflow relief gully (ORG) on your property is overflowing.
What happens after a sewage overflow
How we will deal with a sewage overflow
We’ll attend as soon as possible to clear the blockage. After fixing the issue, we’ll clean any affected outdoor areas by removing contaminants and applying disinfectant.
What we clean
We will only clean external areas that are safe and accessible, such as your yard.
We can't clean inside your home or underneath the house if it is not safely accessible. For internal cleaning or hard-to-reach areas, you’ll need to contact your insurance company for advice and arrange appropriate cleaning.
How we disinfect your outside areas
We treat the contaminated area in two ways:
- Chemical disinfectant: applied to kill harmful bacteria.
- Sunlight: UV rays act as a natural disinfectant and help dry the ground.
After treatment, bacteria levels in the soil should return to normal, or close to normal, within 7–10 days.
What you should do after a sewage overflow
Once we’ve cleaned and disinfected the affected area, please follow these precautions until the site is safe:
- Avoid the area as much as possible.
- Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands after being outside.
- Let visitors know about the contamination.
- Keep children and pets away from the area.
- Monitor your family’s health and see a doctor immediately if anyone shows signs of illness.
Sewage can carry harmful microorganisms that cause illnesses like diarrhoea, Hepatitis A, salmonella, and giardia. These germs can be killed with household disinfectants. While the smell may be unpleasant, it is not harmful.
What to do if sewage enters your home
Sometimes the Overflow Relief Gully (ORG) may not work properly, or the sewage flow may be too strong for it to release everything. In these cases, sewage can back up into the house through floor drains, shower and bath grates, or even toilet bowls.
We will not clean inside your home if sewage enters. Internal cleaning is the property owner’s responsibility. We recommend contacting your insurance company for advice and following their instructions.
Cleaning up safely
If you need to clean up after a sewage incident, follow these important hygiene and safety steps:
- Wear rubber boots and gloves for protection.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after removing gloves.
- Wash clothes and items that came into contact with sewage.
- Disinfect the affected area.
Sewer maintenance on private property: what we do- video
The tips below will help you prevent a sewer blockage within your property and keep the system working safely and efficiently.
Use an Overflow Relief Gully (ORG)
Some homes have an ORG, which is a safety feature designed to protect your home if the sewer becomes blocked. If a blockage happens, the ORG allows sewage to overflow outside into the garden instead of backing up inside your house. It looks like a small drain outside your home with a vent-like top that can pop off during an emergency.
Older homes may have similar fittings called disconnector gullies or vents, but these don’t pop open automatically. If you have one of these, it’s worth checking if it can be upgraded to a modern ORG for better protection.
The importance of a proper ORG
A current model ORG should pop open on its own during an overflow so sewage can escape freely. For it to work properly:
- it must be lower than all waste outlets inside your home (toilets, sinks, showers, baths)
- it should sit at least 75mm above the surrounding ground to stop stormwater from flowing in
- landscaping, garden beds, paving, or pot plants should not cover or block the ORG.
How to keep your ORG working
- Make sure the ORG is clear and not obstructed by soil, plants, or objects.
- Check for corrosion or silt build-up that could stop the top from popping open.
- Keep the drainage path clear so any overflow can drain away quickly.
Regular checks help prevent sewage from backing up into your home and keep your ORG working when you need it most.
Keep stormwater out of the sewerage system
Stormwater must stay separate from sewerage to prevent overloading and sewer overflows during heavy rain. Connecting downpipes, pool water, or yard drainage to the sewer network is illegal and can cause serious issues.
If your downpipes or stormwater drains are near sewer pipes or seem connected, check your property drainage plans to confirm. These plans show where your sewer pipes are located. A licensed plumber can also check the connections for you.
Use your household pipes correctly
Putting the wrong things down sinks, pipes and toilets can leave homeowners with an expensive plumbing bill to unblock pipes. It can also lead to sewage overflows and problems in other parts of the sewerage network.
Find out more: Using sinks, toilets and drains correctly.
Plant trees and shrubs carefully
Tree roots can enter sewer pipes through small cracks or joints while searching for water. Once inside, roots grow larger, damaging pipes and creating blockages.
To reduce the risk, avoid planting trees or large shrubs near newly installed pipes, as roots are drawn to softer soil.
Installing a root barrier can also help. Available from hardware stores and nurseries, root barriers are made from durable fabric or plastic and are installed underground to restrict root growth.
Before planting, contact Before You Dig to identify the location of sewer pipes and other underground services.
Your local nursery can also recommend plant species with non-invasive root systems that are suitable for your property.
Missing or damaged sewer lids or manhole covers
If you notice a missing or damaged lid or manhole cover on sewer infrastructure, please contact us. This can include lids or manhole covers that are:
- dislodged
- sunken
- broken or missing.
Removal of sewer lid or grate
The removal of a sewer lid or grate can be requested in cases of missing items or animals. Contact us to request removal of the lid or grate.
Smoke testing process
To check for stormwater entering the sewers, inspectors release smoke into the sewer pipes, which then travels through house drainage pipes.
The smoke is non-toxic, non-staining, odourless, white to grey in colour and does not create a fire hazard. It should not enter your home or business unless plumbing is defective or drain traps have dried out.
If smoke appears from broken pipes, grates, or downpipes, it may indicate that stormwater is entering the sewer from your property, or that sewer gases could also be entering your home or business.
Testing in your area
Residents in affected areas will be notified before carrying out sewer smoke testing. We will also list the details in our public notices.
It is advisable for residents to have their house drainage checked by a licenced plumber and rectify any defective work prior to our inspection program.
If smoke testing is being undertaken in your area and there is a person in your home or business who has respiratory problems and is immobile, please contact us.
When carrying out inspections, staff will carry identification cards that must be produced on request.
Detecting illegal stormwater connections
Sometimes downpipes can accidentally be linked to sewerage pipes. To check this, we place a safe fluorescent dye into the downpipe. If the dye shows up in the sewer, it means there’s an illegal connection.
If we find any issues that let stormwater into the sewer during our inspection, we’ll let the property owner know. These faults need to be fixed by a licensed plumber to keep the system working properly.
Private property access
Sometimes we need to enter private properties to inspect or maintain sewer assets. Our authorised staff will always carry identification and let you know before entering.
If you have gates, dogs, or other access needs, please contact us so we can make suitable arrangements. If you’re not home, we’ll leave a note to let you know whether the work was completed or if we need to return.