Central Coast water and sewer, a guide by Dotto

Water and sewer at a Central Coast home, along the pipe

A guide to the water and sewer pipes at a Central Coast home, published by Dotto from Central Coast Council’s own pages, which are listed at the foot of each page. It follows the water from the dams to the sewer and stops at five points along the way.

General information about Central Coast Council’s water and sewer rules, not advice about a particular property. Central Coast Council is the place to check.

A Central Coast block in section A street on the left with the water main beneath it, the property boundary as a dashed line, and a house on the right. The water pipe runs from the main through the meter to a garden tap on the house. The sewer runs from the house past an overflow gully and an inspection opening to a boundary shaft and the sewer main. Orange marks show the two points of connection. Numbers 1 to 5 mark the dams, the main, the meter, the garden tap and the sewer. Street Boundary Your block 1 2 3 4 5 From the dams
A sketch after the diagrams in Council’s maintenance guide, not to scale and not a plan of any real block. The orange marks are the two points of connection. Council’s guide says the meter tap and the water meter could sit inside your property boundary, as drawn here.

The line that decides who looks after what

The drawing carries two kinds of line: the property boundary, dashed, and the points of connection, in orange. In Council’s guide to maintenance and repairs (its sewerage page is dated February 2019), it is the points of connection that decide who looks after what.

On the water side, Council looks after the water meter, the meter tap, and the pipes and inspection points that lead to your point of connection. From the point where your pipes meet the meter, every pipe and fitting on the property is the owner’s to install, maintain and repair.

On the sewer side, Council maintains and repairs its own pipes and other assets up to the point of connection. The owner’s share runs up to that point and includes it, along with the boundary shaft, the overflow gully and the inspection opening. Whose pipe is it? sets the two sides out in full.

Council runs the water and the sewers here

Central Coast Council serves a local government area of about 345,000 people, and for more than 139,000 homes and businesses it does five things: it harvests raw water, provides drinking water, collects sewage, recycles treated water and manages stormwater. Council describes the system as the third largest water supply system in New South Wales.

What leaves a home through the sewer is treated at one of eight treatment plants across the Central Coast.

Where to start when something goes wrong

  • No water, low pressure or discoloured water: Council’s outage map shows emergency works and planned maintenance by address. When the water goes off walks through it.
  • A leak or a blockage: Council’s guide lists the signs that a problem may be Council’s responsibility, and asks you to contact it immediately when one applies. The water signs are in the meter guide; the sewer signs are in Blocked sewers.
  • Not sure whose it is: the guide asks you to contact Council to discuss it, and gives its number for that question: 4306 7900.

On the owner’s side of the point of connection, Council’s guide is plain about who to call: a water leak, or a problem with your plumbing, water tank or hot water system, means engaging a licensed plumber, at your own cost.