By Matthew Baring-Gould, Kingscliff-based drainage plumber. Servicing Tweed Heads for 4 years. 5.0 stars across 173 Google reviews. Licensed NSW 383340C and QLD 15036450. ABN 74 605 392 348.
Third call-out to the same Paddington property. Blockage keeps coming back faster each time. The CCTV camera head locator put the fault past the property boundary. The pipe is council-owned and we gave the owner the report they need to escalate.
What the customer called us for
Blocked sewer, third call-out to the same property. The first blockage was about a year ago. The second was six months later. This one came through faster. Faster intervals is the pattern that says you are not dealing with a one-off, you are dealing with something structural.
What we found when we got there
Earthenware sewer pipe, which is standard on the older Paddington streets. Tree roots had grown into the join cracks and were slowly closing off the pipe. Normal story, except for one thing: when we located the camera head after clearing the blockage, the head sat past the property boundary. That one fact changes the whole conversation.
Why we did it this way
When a blockage sits past the property boundary, the pipe is council-owned, which means council is responsible for the fix. We also knew (because the neighbouring property has been calling us out for the same issue) that this is almost certainly a council-side fault affecting multiple homes. Two adjacent houses with the same recurring root invasion is very unlikely to be two independent house-side faults. The right play is not to keep clearing the line forever. The right play is to clear it once, document what the camera shows, and give the owner what they need to escalate.
What we did on site
- Hydrojet cleared the blockage so the owner was not living with a blocked drain while waiting on council.
- CCTV camera down the full line.
- Electronic locator on the camera head to pinpoint the exact position of the problem join.
- Marked position vs the property boundary with the locator. Head sat clearly past the boundary.
- Video recording of the camera footage, including the root invasion and the locator reading.
- Written report naming the pipe material, the diagnosis, and the exact location.
- Advised the owner to lodge the report with council with a request for investigation and reimbursement.
The result
Line clear. The owner has the written report and video to submit to council. Councils do sometimes reimburse the plumbing bill once their own investigation confirms the fault is on their side. Not always, but often enough that submitting the report is worth doing.
If you have the same issue
If your drain has been blocking in the same spot more than once in the last 18 months, and especially if your neighbours are seeing the same thing, there is a reasonable chance you have been paying to clear a council-side problem. Ask the next plumber to camera the line and locate the camera head position. If the head sits past the property boundary, you have the makings of a council escalation. We cover Brisbane inner west, the Gold Coast, and the Tweed / Northern Rivers. Call Matty on 0447 188 394.
Customer names and addresses have been withheld. Individual results vary. Drain Masters Plumbing is licensed in NSW (383340C) and QLD (15036450).
Frequently asked
What is the property boundary, exactly, and who owns the pipe on each side?
The property boundary is where your land ends and council (or shared) infrastructure begins. The sewer main is council-owned, as is the connection from the main up to the boundary. Pipes on your side of the boundary are your responsibility. The boundary line is on your property title.
Does council always reimburse if the fault is on their side?
No. It depends on the council, the specifics of the report and the investigation. Submitting the camera footage with a written report significantly improves the chance of reimbursement.
What makes recurring blocked drains different from one-off blockages?
A one-off is usually a wet-wipe, a toy, or a kitchen grease build-up. A recurring blockage in the same spot is almost always structural: root invasion at a cracked join, pipe deformity collecting silt, or (as here) a council-side fault that keeps re-blocking.
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