Thread: Finding stormwater pipes

Have you got access from the down pipe? The downpipes on our current house just went into the ground in gravel fill seepage on one side and under the neighbours fence on another.

If you can access the drain, try pushing a hose down it to see how far it goes before it stops.

Hi artme,

I have seen a sparky find a disused electrical cable underground using two pieces of bent wire as a water diviner would use. He went on to show us where the water main ran under ground.
Perhaps a water diviner can help?

Geoff.

BTW Councils use smoke to detect illegal connection of stormwater to sewers. There are machines that pump smoke into the pipes and you watch for where it comes out of the ground or (illegally) out of the stink pipe.

Depends on the orientation of the slope of your block, and how old the house is. Do you have the plans for your property? There will possibly be an easement along the back and/or down the side of either yours or your neighbour's properties, and this is usually where sewer and stormwater pipes run, and all the houses in the street are tapped into these. However, if your block slopes from back to front, then there will possibly be an outlet to the front of your property, either as an outlet cut into the gutter, or it will be connected into the stormwater pipes under the nature strip.

If your house is on a slab, then around your house will be a perimeter of stormwater pipe, generally about 600 - 1200 mm off the house. These join all the downpipes together before shooting off to the discharge point, usually towards the lowest point.

Now, if your house is on stumps, then your pipes could be run anywhere under your house also...

I had this problem in Sydney and ended up going to the water board. They had a mud map of the storm water and sewerage. Turned out to not be very accurate (was probably drawn up that night at the dinner table) but at least gave me a clue where to start looking. It had a vertical pipe that was supposedly near the boundary, so I shoved the garden hose down one of the IOs until it stopped and that gave me a radius to dig along until I found it.

The kinds of searches that solicitors do when you purchase a place often turn up subdivision plans with drawings showing where the drains are. We pulled out of one place because the searches found an easement that couldn't be built on for stormwater drains, and the garage and swimming pool were right over the top. Council may also have copies of that sort of plan.

Thanks for all the advice fellas! Much appreciated.

Brother can divine but I can't ,and he is too far away. Don't know if divining works for empty or dry plastic pipes.

As I said the drainage is entirely internal.

The block slopes from front to back and is on piers.

Exploratory digging has given me some ideas but I need to be certain.

Council only has a hydrology plan that does not include stormwater.

I have had thoughts about putting dye in the pipes next time it rains and seeing what happens.

As I say, I got my plan from Sydney Water. It was the MWSDB when the house (no longer mine) was built. They changed names and responsibilities a number of times, but still had the drainage diagram on file. Worth a try if there is similar in your area.

Originally Posted by silentC

As I say, I got my plan from Sydney Water. It was the MWSDB when the house (no longer mine) was built. They changed names and responsibilities a number of times, but still had the drainage diagram on file. Worth a try if there is similar in your area.

DidjareadwotIsaid?

If you are dealing with the Hervey bay council, then just forget it. There were no plans for stormwater under 150 mm, only the trunk lines. My ex wife work for the council 13 years ago as a trainee on the way to get her deg in civil eng. This is the same council that decided that they were going to put drains in the swamp land between Scarness and Torquay and boat harbour drive and discharge out Tooan Tooan creek, the power to be were told after lots of money was spent it was up hill, it should gone to the other way.

if you are between the main road coming from pialba and the beach, you will find a lot of the houses in the area were built with a stormwater silage pit. " hole in the ground, lined with fabric then filled with stones, this was then covered with fabric and back filled. Depending we're you are the depth changes.

I know this because my grandfather was a return service man, and bought the land what is now. corner Eric st and Cypress St through to Ocean St and Ann Street. The house on the corner of Eric and Cypress was my dads (handed down grandad) and the house behind was grandma's. The timber came from Fraser island by bullock team. And the stormwater was done this way at this house.

I hope this helps

Originally Posted by artme

DidjareadwotIsaid?

Yes I did. Just saying I got mine from the Water Board, not the Council.

But I guess outside metro areas they're one and the same. Apologies for thinking aloud

A plumber with the right gear could put a camera down the drain (access from a downpipe point) and use an electronic unit which can detect where the camera head is from above ground. Don't know if you can hire the gear but it may be worth a try. Otherwise put an electric eel down the drain and use a metal detector to track the metal cable of the eel.

If the stormwater drains to a main or easement the council should have record of the main or easement location, and may have a location for the connection point. If there is no main then the pipes will drain to an absorption trench which could be anywhere.

In my experience councils and Water Board don't normally keep records of stormwater drains.

As a last resort get a good shovel and start digging

You need the Time Team, well just the magnetic/radar imaging team, they do the walk over the ground with the gadget to find underground anomalies, I think there'd have to be industries out there that also use this sort of technology to find stuff underground, 3TS suggestion would be near the money also


Pete

Originally Posted by artme

OK, I placed a similar request in the Renovate Forums but the answers so far don't really help.

I need to locate the underground stormwater pipes without digging up the entire block.

The drainage is all internal. Nothing goes to the street. I haven't found exit points, yet, anywhere for the water despite the rain we have had.

I had thought there maybe some sort of sensing device I could use - and no doubt there is - but cost has to be a consideration.

Any suggestions??

Pity you don't live a bit closer, i could come and find it very easily. Any time I dig a hole at home I manage to find either the storm water or sewerage pipes.