Drainage Greenwich: The Pipes Beneath the Point
1000+ five-star reviews
Drainage is the least visible part of plumbing and the most expensive to get wrong. Every home on the Greenwich peninsula drains by gravity, and gravity here has opinions.
The land falls from the ridge to the harbour on both sides, through soil that is mostly rock and shale, beneath some of the oldest housing in the Lane Cove municipality.
This hub covers every drainage job we run on the point, from a gurgling shower recess to a sewer main that needs relining. It routes each job to the right specialist page, so you never have to guess who to ring or explain your problem twice.
- $0 Call Out Fee
- Lifetime Labour Warranty
- Licensed & Insured
- Lic #275278C
- Licensed & Insured
- $0 Call Out Fee
- Lifetime Labour Warranty
- On-Site Fast, 24/7
- 1000+ five-star reviews
- Real Humans Answer, Day or Night
- Lic #275278C
- Licensed & Insured
- $0 Call Out Fee
- Lifetime Labour Warranty
- On-Site Fast, 24/7
- 1000+ five-star reviews
- Real Humans Answer, Day or Night
- Lic #275278CNSW plumbing licence, fully insured, water and gas
- $0 Call Out FeeIt costs nothing to get us to your door
- Lifetime Labour WarrantyIf it's not right, we come back. No questions. No cost.
- 1000+ five-star reviewsSydney homeowners have rated us five stars over a thousand times
1000+ five-star reviews across Sydney. $0 call out fee. And a fixed price before any work begins. The price we quote is the price you pay. No exceptions.
Which drainage problem do you have?
Most drainage calls arrive as one of six situations, and each has its own page behind it:
Water backing up inside the house
A shower recess filling, a toilet bubbling when the laundry drains, a floor drain rising. That is a sewer problem, and the blocked sewer page is where it lives.
A single slow drain with everything else fine
Usually a local blockage in one fixture line. Start at blocked drains.
Water lying in the yard or pouring from a pit during rain
Stormwater, covered under stormwater.
A drain that blocks again and again
A pipe condition problem. The CCTV drain inspections page explains how we see inside the line, and pipe relining explains the no-dig fix.
New drainage needed, or old lines rebuilt
Drainage repair & installation covers new pits, surface drains and replaced runs.
Water where it should not be, right now
The emergency plumbing hub covers the make-safe response before any drainage work starts.
Not sure which it is? Describe what is happening when you call and we will tell you which page, and which van, the job needs.
A peninsula shaped by water on three sides
Greenwich sits on a finger of land between the Lane Cove River and Gore Creek, with the harbour wrapping the tip past Greenwich Baths and Greenwich Point Wharf. Census figures put the peninsula at 5,469 residents, and nearly all of them live on blocks that slope somewhere steep.
That geography is the single biggest fact about drainage here
Soil is thin over rock and shale
The six drainage services we run here
- Blocked drains: one drain slow or stopped, cleared properly and diagnosed, not just poked at.
- Blocked sewer: the main backing up into fixtures, the urgent version of a blockage.
- Stormwater: roof and surface water managed, pits and downpipes made to cope with ridge run-off.
- CCTV drain inspections: camera runs that show you the inside of the pipe before you decide anything.
- Pipe relining: the no-dig repair for root-damaged sewers, cured in place.
- Drainage repair & installation: new lines, rebuilt runs and pits for renovations and problem blocks.
The tree canopy and the pipes beneath it
The streets here are famous for their mature figs and brushbox, and that canopy is quietly at war with the drains. Pre-war salt-glazed earthenware sewers under the older streets have been cracking and shifting joints for a century of service.
Every shifted joint is an invitation
The pattern is predictable
What each drainage job involves
Blocked drains
A single blocked drain is usually a local fault: grease in a kitchen line, hair in a shower, or a root tip finding one joint. We clear it with the right tool, jet where it is stubborn, and tell you honestly whether the pipe behind it needs more than a clear.
Most one-off blockages are fixed on the first visit.
Blocked sewer
When the main backs up, multiple fixtures fail together and the lowest one in the house is where it shows. Sewer work on the point usually means roots in earthenware, and we treat it as a condition problem: clear it now, camera it after.
Then we give you the repair options with the evidence in front of you.
Stormwater
Rain off the ridge moves fast, and old street pits were never sized for the hard surfaces modern renovations add. We clear and upgrade stormwater runs, install new pits and surface drains, and grade everything so water leaves your block the way the peninsula intends: downhill, but under control.
CCTV drain inspections
A camera run turns guesswork into evidence. You see the cracked earthenware, the root intrusion, the displaced joint, on screen, before any decision about repair or relining. It is the standard first step for repeat blockages, pre-purchase checks on Federation homes, and any dispute about where a fault actually sits.
Pipe relining
Relining pulls a resin liner into the old line and cures it into a seamless new pipe inside the old one. No excavation, no torn-up garden, and no open joints for roots to find again. On steep established blocks where digging means removing a mature garden, it is often the only sensible repair.
Drainage repair & installation
New drainage is designed, not improvised. We size and grade runs to the block, connect roof water and surface water to the right outlets, and rebuild failed sections in materials that outlast the earthenware they replace. Renovations, new wet areas and problem yards all start here.
How we diagnose a drainage fault
Diagnosis follows a decision path, and we follow it on every job rather than jumping straight to the loudest tool.
Clear first, where clearing is the answer. A straightforward blockage gets cleared with the appropriate equipment, jetted where the fault is compacted or greasy, and tested with water before we call it done. If the drain runs clean and the pipe is sound, that is the end of the job.
Camera when the story does not add up. A drain that blocks twice in a season, a sewer that gurgles in dry weather, or a blockage that keeps returning to the same fixture all point to pipe condition. The camera goes down, and we record what it finds so you can see the cracked joint or the root mass yourself.
Then the honest fork: repair, reline or replace. With the footage in hand, the choice becomes factual. Isolated damage in an otherwise sound line gets a targeted repair. Root damage along a run under gardens and paths gets relined. A collapsed line with nothing left to reline gets excavated and replaced, and we tell you plainly which of the three you are looking at.
Stormwater gets diagnosed outdoors. We trace the run, test pits with a hose, and find whether the problem is capacity, grade or a broken section. The fix follows the finding, never the other way round.
Clear first, where clearing is the answer
A straightforward blockage gets cleared with the appropriate equipment, jetted where the fault is compacted or greasy, and tested with water before we call it done. If the drain runs clean and the pipe is sound, that is the end of the job.
Camera when the story does not add up
A drain that blocks twice in a season, a sewer that gurgles in dry weather, or a blockage that keeps returning to the same fixture all point to pipe condition. The camera goes down, and we record what it finds so you can see the cracked joint or the root mass yourself.
Then the honest fork: repair, reline or replace
With the footage in hand, the choice becomes factual. Isolated damage in an otherwise sound line gets a targeted repair. Root damage along a run under gardens and paths gets relined. A collapsed line with nothing left to reline gets excavated and replaced, and we tell you plainly which of the three you are looking at.
Stormwater gets diagnosed outdoors
We trace the run, test pits with a hose, and find whether the problem is capacity, grade or a broken section. The fix follows the finding, never the other way round.
Drainage trouble on Greenwich blocks, by property type
Federation and interwar houses. Double-brick homes on the older streets carry earthenware sewers laid before the war. The warning signs are gurgling from the floor waste when the washing machine drains, a toilet that bubbles when the shower runs, and patches of lawn that stay greener and wetter than the rest. These lines fail at the joints, and roots find the failures.
Strata apartments near the highway edge. Units cluster along the Pacific Highway and St Leonards side, and their drainage issues are shared: blocked floor wastes in basement car parks, stormwater pits serving multiple roofs, and mains that back up into the lowest unit when they block. Body corporate work needs plumbers who can liaise with committees and produce the paperwork, and we do.
Renovated homes with new surfaces. A renovation that swaps lawn for paving changes how much rain soaks in and how fast the rest has to leave. If your yard started ponding after the works, the drainage was sized for the old surface, and the run needs upgrading to match the new one.
Properties low on the fall. Blocks near the bottom of the slope receive water that higher neighbours shed, plus surcharge pressure when the street pits overload. If your garage or under-house area wet-weather floods while the rest of the street stays dry, capacity is the issue, and it needs fixing at the run, not the mop.
Federation and interwar houses
Double-brick homes on the older streets carry earthenware sewers laid before the war. The warning signs are gurgling from the floor waste when the washing machine drains, a toilet that bubbles when the shower runs, and patches of lawn that stay greener and wetter than the rest. These lines fail at the joints, and roots find the failures.
Strata apartments near the highway edge
Units cluster along the Pacific Highway and St Leonards side, and their drainage issues are shared: blocked floor wastes in basement car parks, stormwater pits serving multiple roofs, and mains that back up into the lowest unit when they block. Body corporate work needs plumbers who can liaise with committees and produce the paperwork, and we do.
Renovated homes with new surfaces
A renovation that swaps lawn for paving changes how much rain soaks in and how fast the rest has to leave. If your yard started ponding after the works, the drainage was sized for the old surface, and the run needs upgrading to match the new one.
Properties low on the fall
Blocks near the bottom of the slope receive water that higher neighbours shed, plus surcharge pressure when the street pits overload. If your garage or under-house area wet-weather floods while the rest of the street stays dry, capacity is the issue, and it needs fixing at the run, not the mop.
What the trees, soil and storm flows mean for drains here
Three environmental facts drive most of the drainage work on the point, and none of them are changing.
The canopy is permanent. The celebrated figs and brushbox are protected by the community and older than most of the pipes. Any sewer under their root zones will be visited by roots for the life of the tree, which is why we recommend relined or jointless lines on the worst streets rather than repeated clearing.
Rock and shale hold water in narrow trenches. Pipes here sit in trenches cut through shale a century ago. Water that leaks from a cracked line cannot soak away quietly; it travels the trench, which is why drainage leaks on this peninsula surface as damp patches some distance from the actual fault.
Storm flows concentrate toward Gore Creek. There is no floodplain on the peninsula; the risk is fast run-off. Downpours off the ridge overload old street pits and the concentrated flows travel the creek corridor, with surcharge on the lowest foreshore blocks. Properties low on the fall need drainage rated for what arrives from above them, not just their own roof.
Salt air works on exposed metalwork. The harbourside climate carries enough salt to matter for grates, pit lids and galvanised fittings near the baths and the foreshore parks. We specify materials that stand up to it when we rebuild any drainage that sits exposed to the weather off the water.
The canopy is permanent
The celebrated figs and brushbox are protected by the community and older than most of the pipes. Any sewer under their root zones will be visited by roots for the life of the tree, which is why we recommend relined or jointless lines on the worst streets rather than repeated clearing.
Rock and shale hold water in narrow trenches
Pipes here sit in trenches cut through shale a century ago. Water that leaks from a cracked line cannot soak away quietly; it travels the trench, which is why drainage leaks on this peninsula surface as damp patches some distance from the actual fault.
Storm flows concentrate toward Gore Creek
There is no floodplain on the peninsula; the risk is fast run-off. Downpours off the ridge overload old street pits and the concentrated flows travel the creek corridor, with surcharge on the lowest foreshore blocks. Properties low on the fall need drainage rated for what arrives from above them, not just their own roof.
Salt air works on exposed metalwork
The harbourside climate carries enough salt to matter for grates, pit lids and galvanised fittings near the baths and the foreshore parks. We specify materials that stand up to it when we rebuild any drainage that sits exposed to the weather off the water.
How it works
How a drainage job runs
- 01
Call us and talk to a plumber
Speak to a licensed plumber, not an answering machine. Tell us what's going on and we'll tell you what happens next.
- 02
We turn up when we say we will
Your plumber arrives on time, in a stocked van, ready to start, not ready to have a look and come back next week.
- 03
Fixed price before we lift a spanner
You get the full price in writing before any work begins. No surprises, no obligation. If you say no, that's fine. The call out cost you $0.
- 04
Fixed right, backed for life
The work is done properly, tested, and covered by our Lifetime Labour Warranty. If it's not right, we come back. No questions. No cost.
Why drainage work in Greenwich is different
We know what is under these streets
The price we quote is the price you pay. No exceptions
Licensed & insured, Lic #275278C
Fair, upfront pricing. No surprises.
Upfront fixed pricing. No hourly surprises.
We don't charge by the hour, and we don't do estimates that grow. Your plumber assesses the job, gives you a fixed written price, and that's what you pay. The price we quote is the price you pay. No exceptions.
- $0 call out: the assessment and quote cost you nothing
- One fixed price, in writing, before any work begins
- No overtime rates: nights and weekends priced the same way
- Card, cash and payment plans accepted
No surprises, no obligation. If the price doesn't work for you, you owe us nothing.
The price we quote is the price you pay. No exceptions.
Good questions, straight answers
What Greenwich households ask about drainage
Why do the drains on the peninsula block so often?
The earthenware mains beneath the pre-war streets have carried waste for a century and their joints have shifted over that service, while the suburb's mature figs and brushbox push roots straight into the gaps, so repeat blockages here are usually a pipe condition problem rather than a one-off fluke.
What is the difference between a blocked sewer and a blocked stormwater drain?
The sewer carries waste from your fixtures to the main, while stormwater carries rain off your roof and grounds to the street or creek. Sewer blockages back up inside the house, and stormwater blockages show up as flooding around pits and downpipes during rain.
Do I need CCTV before you clear my drain?
Not always. We clear first where the blockage is straightforward, then recommend a camera run when the blockage repeats, when roots are the suspected cause, or when you need evidence of pipe condition before deciding between repair and relining.
Can you reline a sewer instead of digging up my garden?
In most cases yes. Relining threads a resin-saturated liner through the existing pipe and cures it in place, which suits the steep, established blocks on the harbour-side falls where excavation would tear up gardens, paths and driveways.
How does the ridge-to-harbour slope affect my stormwater?
Both sides of the point fall away from the ridge toward the water, so private runs are long and steep. Fast flows can scour lines and drop their silt load where the run flattens out, which is why we size and grade new drainage to the block, not to a generic standard.
Who is responsible for the drain between my house and the boundary?
The section inside your property is yours, and Sydney Water looks after the sewer main itself. We inspect, clear and repair the private side, and we tell you plainly when a problem sits on the utility's side of the boundary.
Is a smelly floor drain in my laundry an emergency?
Usually not, but it is worth checking. A dry or blocked floor drain lets sewer odours back into the house, and on this peninsula it often means the main downstream is partially root-bound, so a camera inspection settles it before it becomes a backup.
Need a plumber in Greenwich? We're ready now.
Call (02) 9072 0504 and speak to a licensed plumber, not an answering machine, 24/7, including weekends and public holidays. Prefer a callback? Leave your details and we'll call you back fast, day or night.
Call (02) 9072 0504. $0 call out, fixed price before any work begins.
For the wider picture of what we do, from hot water to general plumbing, the home page maps the lot. Our crews also cover the neighbouring peninsulas and river-side suburbs, including Northwood, Wollstonecraft and Waverton.