Sunbury
Blocked, burst or leaking in Sunbury?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Sunbury, from the Jacksons Creek flats to the basalt plains, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Sunbury
Satellite town houses, basalt and creek flats
The Paynes estate dates from when Sunbury was promoted as a satellite town, and most of its houses are weatherboard and/or fibro cement. Expect original earthenware sewer branches and galvanised water pipe there, with cracked joints, scale and corrosion, rather than the PVC of later estates.
Goonawarra was a vineyard until it became a housing estate of the same name in the 1980s. Pipes there are usually PVC sewer with copper or early plastic water lines, so a blockage is more often roots at a glued joint than a collapsed clay pipe.
The valley was formed by Jacksons Creek cutting deeply into the basalt, with alluvial flats on the west bank. On the basalt side a trench meets hard rock near the surface, while on the flats soft, wet ground lets trenches slump and pipes settle.
Jobs in Sunbury
Old estate pipes, rock and overland flow
Blocked drains
Clay sewer branches under the Paynes estate houses, and root entry at PVC joints in Goonawarra.
Burst pipes
Corroded galvanised water pipe in the older estates, on the property side of the meter.
Gutters and downpipes
Roof water on lots backing onto the creek reserves, where overland flow arrives in heavy rain.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Sunbury questions
Creek rises, recycled water and Hume's permit
Why does stormwater back up on lots beside the creek reserves?
Two minor creeks enter Jacksons Creek in the Sunbury township, and properties backing onto those reserves take overland flow from the parkland in heavy rain. Hume is renewing a Blind Creek footbridge because it can be impacted during flash flooding, so an outlet facing that creek can back up while the water is high.
Where does the sewer go, and who owns it?
Greater Western Water owns the sewer and treats it at the Sunbury Recycled Water Plant, which discharges to Jacksons Creek. A mains blockage or overflow is reported to the corporation, and chemical drain cleaners are kept out of the line.
Is a drain in Sunbury usually shared?
Rarely. At the last census 88.5 percent of occupied dwellings were separate houses, so most drains serve one house on its own lot. There is seldom an owners corporation to ask, and side access for a camera or jetter is normal.
What does a new stormwater connection need in Hume?
Hume City Council issues a Legal Point of Stormwater Discharge permit, and the connection cannot be designed until it names the discharge point. A development of three or more dwellings on one title also needs a drainage investigation lodged.
