Wastewater blockages

How to deal with them

A wastewater blockage, or sewer choke, can occur when there's something inside a pipe that stops it working properly. They have common causes: tree roots that have found a way into the pipes, when someone puts something down the toilet that it's not designed for, such as wet wipes or other hygiene products, or by stormwater entering the wastewater network and overloading it during heavy rainfall.

Trees and wastewater blockages

Your responsibilities

Claim for out-of-pocket expenses

Road or footpath excavation

Trees and wastewater blockages

Tree roots are a common cause of damage to wastewater pipes. They can enter small cracks in your wastewater pipes to seek out nutrients and then continue to grow. As they grow, they take up more space and slow down your drainage. This can eventually cause a blockage.

Signs of a blockage can be:

  • slow drainage
  • gurgling noises in sanitary drains
  • odour overflows in your home and property.

How to prevent blockages

Before you plant trees on your property, find out where your wastewater pipes are. A sewerage service diagram will show you. You can get one online through Sydney Water Tap in

Try not to plant trees within 6 metres of wastewater pipes. Your local nursery can advise on trees and their root systems or check the list below for trees to avoid.

If you have existing trees and they're a problem, ask a plumber to set up a regular maintenance plan for you.

The only things you should flush are the three Ps - pee, poo, and toilet paper. While some brands of wet wipes might say they’re flushable - they aren't!
 

If you're planting trees near wastewater pipes, make sure you know which ones to avoid to prevent damage to your pipes.

Which trees should you avoid planting?

Tree species vary greatly in their ability to enter the wastewater system and cause damage. The trees listed below are likely to cause problems to your wastewater pipes. We recommend that you don't plant these species within 6 metres of a wastewater pipe.
 

Botanical name

Common name

Acer sp.

Maple (mostly large)

Araucaria sp.

Norfolk Island Pine

Bambusa sp.

Bamboo

Brachychiton Acerifolius

Illawarra Flame Tree

Callistemon sp.

Bottlebrushes

Casuarina sp.

Casuarinas or She-Oaks (especially River Oak and Swamp Oak)

Celtis sp.

Nettle-tree and Hackberry

Chamaecyparis/Cupressus sp.

Cedar and Cypress

Cinnamomum Camphora

Camphor Laurel

 Erythrina sp.

 Coral tree (large)

 Eucalyptus sp.

 Gum trees (large)

 Ficus sp.

 Figs (Moreton Bay Fig, Weeping Fig, Rubber Tree)

 Fraxinus sp.

 Ashes (large)

 Jacaranda Mimosifolia

 Jacaranda

 Lagerstroemia sp.

 Crape Myrtle

 Liquidambar Styraciflua

 Liquidambar

 Lophostemon Confertus

 Brush Box

 Magnolia sp.

 Magnolias (large)

 Melaleuca

 Paperbarks

 Metrosideros Excelsus

 New Zealand Christmas Tree

 Morus sp.

 Mulberry (especially Black Mulberry)

 Murraya Paniculate

 Orange Jasmine

 Nerium Oleander

 Oleander

 Persea Americana

 Avocado

 Phoenix Canariensis

 Canary Island Date Palm

 Pinus sp.

 Pine

 Platanus sp.

 Plane trees

 Populus sp.

 Poplars

 Prunus sp.

 Apricot, Cherry, Peach, Plum

 Quercus sp.

 Oaks

 Salix sp.

 Willows

 Sapium Sebiferum

 Chinese Tallow Tree

Schefflera Actinophylla

 Umbrella Tree

 Schinus Molle

 Pepper Tree

 Syzygium sp.

 Lillypilly

 Ulmus sp.

 Elms (large)

 Wisteria sp.

 Wisterias

 

Close list

Your responsibilities 

What we're responsible for

Sydney Water is responsible for the wastewater pipes from our network up to the property connection point.

The blockage is likely to be in Sydney Water's pipes if:

  • the overflow is visible beyond your property boundary, eg  from a maintenance hole located on public land
  • your neighbours are experiencing the same problem
  • there is widespread flooding in your local area
  • you're experiencing a continuous overflow and you're not currently using water on your property.

If this is the case, please call us on 13 20 90 (24 hours / 7 days) to report the issue. We'll send a crew to the site to investigate.

What property owners are responsible for

Property owners are responsible for the private wastewater pipes on their property up to and including where they connect to our pipes (the connection point).

The blockage is likely to be in your private pipes if:

  • your neighbours aren't experiencing a blockage
  • your drainage isn't shared with other properties
  • there is no flooding in your local area
  • you're only experiencing an overflow when using water on your property.

If this is the case, please contact a licensed plumber to clear the blockage in your pipes.

Not sure if the blockage is in your private pipes or our network?
Please call us on 13 20 90 and we'll ask you some simple questions to identify the location of the blockage.

Claim for out-of-pocket expenses

You can claim for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses if you're a:

  • licensed plumber and you've found a blockage in our wastewater pipes
  • customer and you've paid a licensed plumber who found a blockage in our wastewater pipes.


What you need to know before you make a claim

Before you fill out the claim form, please ensure that:

  • the plumber calls us on 13 20 90 to get a job number. This number needs to be included on the form
  • you read our Claiming for wastewater blockages (525 KB) guide
  • you have all invoices and supporting documentation ready to attach
  • you provide a timesheet or excavation details if the invoice doesn't give a detailed account of the work completed.

Ready to make a claim?
Use our Wastewater blockage claim form (93 KB)

We'll send you confirmation once we receive your claim. It may take up to eight weeks to process your claim.

Road or footpath excavation

If a licensed plumber finds that your private wastewater pipes have collapsed under a public road or public footpath and we verify that the collapse can’t be repaired without excavating, we'd like to help.

We may offer to repair the collapsed section of pipe at our cost (conditions apply). We can't reimburse you or your plumber for any plumbing costs related to this work.

For more information: