BLOCKED STORMWATER DRAINS

When it comes to the stormwater drains and associated infrastructure including gutters, downpipes and pits situated on your property, the responsibility for their upkeep lies solely with you – the property owner. That is the case throughout Australia, including Queensland – although the details lay in the hands of the local councils.

The local councils are also responsible for the actual communal drains that serve your neighbours on your street as well. As a rule, then, stormwater is 100% your responsibility when on your property, and then in the hands of another entity – the council or relevant water authority – once it’s left your boundaries via a legal stormwater connection.

If your stormwater drain is clogged up, it’s important not to panic – but at the same time, it’s crucial to act immediately. That’s because a simple blocked stormwater drain is likely to overflow and cause an uncontrolled release of what can be an enormous quantity of flowing water, especially in wet seasons. Dealing quickly with a clogged stormwater issue will preventing flooding, damage to neighbouring properties, health and safety hazards and even structural damage to your investment’s very foundations.

While a professional drain expert or plumber could very well need to attend to your problem, there are a few things you can try before making that call. They include:

• Pouring boiling water into the drain to dislodge greasy or gunky clogs
• Trying to use your household plunger, although this is rarely effective with a stormwater blockage
• A homemade chemical brew such as bicarb + white vinegar
• Chemical solutions
• A plumber’s drain snake to break up the blockage.

Short answer first: No!

Basically, everything you wash or flush down the drains inside your home – including the contents of your toilet – heads into the sewer. Think of it like this: if it’s been used by or touched by humans, it heads into the sewerage waste system en route to a community treatment location. This includes the water that flows off your body during a shower, the water that washes your clothes in the washing machine, and the dirty dishwater.

Stormwater – and the associated stormwater drains – are something that is quite different. Stormwater is essentially just the water that hits your roof when it rains and flows into the gutters & downpipes and into the stormwater system and drains within the bounds of your property. That stormwater waste then runs into your property’s legal community connection point on the street, which also takes the stormwater from neighbouring properties. The big difference between how sewer and stormwater waste is treated is that while sewer and household drain waste heads to a treatment facility, stormwater is rarely treated at all and probably just flows into a relevant waterway.