Sewer blockages

Each property connected to our waste water system via a gravitational sewer system, should have a sewer inspection shaft. All sewage flow from the house discharges to our wastewater system via this sewer inspection shaft.

Your sewer inspection shaft forms part of your privately owned internal house drainage system and is the maintenance responsibility of the property owner and should be accessible at all times.

Your sewer shaft is used both for access for maintenance purposes and to confirm the operation of the properties internal house drainage system and also used as an access point to identify, diagnose and rectify any possible blockage that may be within the Hunter Water owned asset (the sewer main).

The location of our sewer mains and your pipes can be hard to identify without plans, although you can usually find an inspection shaft cover somewhere in your yard.

We can provide you with a plan of your property showing where our sewer mains are located (which includes a fee) or contact Dial Before You Dig Australia. A qualified plumber can provide you with a basic plan of where your sewer pipes are located.

You should always refer to our website for more information or contact us in the first instance.

If you arrange for a licensed plumber to attend your property prior to contacting us, they may be able to determine if there is a possible blockage within our wastewater system (Hunter Water owned asset), or within your internal pipework (customer owned asset).

If the blockage is suspected to be within our wastewater system, your licensed plumber should contact, or ask you to contact us. We will then attend to carry out the appropriate work.

If the work to determine the blockage was undertaken by a licensed plumber at your request, prior to your contact with us to report a suspected blockage, you are responsible for these costs.

In the majority of circumstances, upon notification, we will attend a property if the sewer inspection shaft is full or overflowing as this may indicate that there is a blockage in the sewer main or branch line.

Inspection Openings (IO's) are access points located on your internal house drainage pipework used to allow inspection of and access for clearing blockages. Most IO’s are below ground level, however some are extended to ground level, sealed with a removable air tight lid and are located where your internal house drainage pipework may change direction.

Some species are not suitable for planting near sewer pipes - their roots can infiltrate and eventually destroy pipes, causing significant inconvenience and costly repairs. Roots anchor and support trees, but they also seek and supply moisture and nutrients for continued growth.

ORG’s are located external of the dwelling, have a removable grate, and generally have a hose tap over them. The shape and size can vary. Older dwellings may have large earthenware gullies, whilst newer dwellings have smaller concrete gullies. The purpose of a ORG is to allow potential sewer overflow to discharge external of the dwelling rather than internal.

Generally sewer manholes can be located in roads, footpaths, driveways, public spaces and inside private properties. We may require access to a customer’s property for the purposes of carrying out maintenance or to attend to emergency operational incidents occurring within the wastewater system, in accordance with our Customer Contract and Operating Licence requirements and obligations.

Sewer manholes are part of our infrastructure and should be made accessible at all times to provide access for routine maintenance and emergency purposes, such as:

• Inspection of the wastewater system by closed circuit television (CCTV)
• Cleaning and removal any blockages from the wastewater system
• General operational inspections of the wastewater system