Look after your gutters and drains
Rain collected on your roof travels through spouting and downpipes, before flowing into our stormwater system (usually outside on the road).
Each homeowner must dispose of their stormwater runoff in a way that avoids the likelihood of damage or nuisance to neighbouring properties. If your stormwater runoff causes damage to someone else’s property, you will be required to fix the situation.
It’s a good idea to regularly check the drains and gutters outside your home to ensure they’re not blocked and working as normal.
If you notice any of the Councils culverts or other stormwater control devices are blocked ring the council and let us know.
Run-off from your neighbours
You are only obliged to accept stormwater runoff from properties which would naturally discharge onto your property.
Any improvements to properties must ensure that extra stormwater is controlled and does not cause a nuisance or damage.
If your neighbour’s runoff is damaging your property, we recommend you take the matter up with your neighbour directly. Council will only intervene where the runoff is the direct consequence of construction that Council has given consent to.
Please be aware that if you do any development on your property it may increase the amount of stormwater flowing onto a neighbour's property. Raising the ground level, increasing the impermeable area or blocking a flow path are all likely to impact someone. You will either need to stop that activity or prevent the extra stormwater flowing across your boundary.
Council recommends you take time to talk to your neighbours about any flooding problems you may be experiencing. In many cases, a resolution can be reached that will satisfy everyone’s needs.
You may need to consult a lawyer so that any agreement you make with your neighbour is legally enforceable and appropriate for future owners if the land should be sold.
Don’t connect your gutters to our wastewater network
A cross connection is the diversion of stormwater into the wastewater network.
A common source is a downpipe diverted into the gully trap (a drainage vent usually covered with a small grating and located against the outside of a house, near the kitchen, laundry or bathroom).
Stormwater in the wastewater network can overload our wastewater treatment plants, which could forces us to discharge partially treated water to the environment so the plants can keep up. Wastewater connections to stormwater pipes have an equally harmful impact.
One way to help keep our streams, rivers and coast clean for generations to come is to ensure there are no cross connections on your property – they are illegal.
It is the homeowner’s responsibility to ensure their drainage pipes connect to the right system.
