Stormwater Drainage & Piping
Blocked stormwater pipes, flooding paths and pooling yards: we clear, repair and install stormwater drainage that actually copes with Sydney rain.
Who fixes blocked or broken stormwater pipes?
Stormwater drainage is licensed plumbing work. Ready Plumbing clears blocked stormwater lines, repairs broken and root-damaged pipes, and installs new stormwater drainage, including connecting downpipes properly, across the Northern Beaches and North Shore. We diagnose with CCTV cameras first, so you know exactly what's wrong before paying to fix it.
Stormwater
Stormwater: the drainage you don't notice until it rains
Stormwater systems get no attention until a proper Sydney downpour finds their weakness, then it’s water pooling against the house, a flooded path, or a garden turning into a dam. Ready Plumbing clears, repairs and installs stormwater drainage across the Northern Beaches and North Shore, using the same camera-first approach as all our drain work: see the problem, price the fix accurately, then do it once.
What We Fix
Stormwater problems we fix
- Blocked stormwater pipes: Silt, leaves and debris jetted clear, roots cut out.
- Broken and crushed lines: Repaired by targeted excavation, or relined without digging where conditions suit.
- Backfall and poor design: Lines that never had the fall to drain, corrected properly.
- Downpipes at ground level: Connected into stormwater instead of eroding your paths and foundations.
- Blocked pits and channels: Cleared and put on a maintenance schedule if they’re repeat offenders.
- Overwhelmed systems: Extra pits, bigger lines or added capacity where the original design can’t cope.
See how we handle water jetting and no-dig pipe relining, and how we connect downpipe replacements properly into stormwater.
Why It Matters
Why stormwater problems are worth fixing early
Water that can’t get away doesn’t disappear; it goes where you least want it. Persistent pooling against the house wets foundations and slabs; overflow across paving undermines it; and water backing up a blocked stormwater line in a storm can find its way into garages and lower floors. The repair bill for the drainage is almost always smaller than the repair bill for what the water damaged.
There’s also the roof connection: stormwater starts at your gutters. Overflowing gutters and blocked downpipes feed many “stormwater” problems, so we assess the path end-to-end, from roof to street, rather than treating one pipe in isolation. Our guttering team handles the top half of that system.
Every significant stormwater job starts with a CCTV inspection: we see the blockage or break, locate exactly where and how deep it is, and map where the pipes actually run, then quote the real fix.
Ready For Rain?
24/7 for storm emergencies
Available across the Northern Beaches, North Shore and surrounds, 24/7 for storm emergencies.
Last reviewed: 8 July 2026 by the Ready Plumbing team.
FAQ
Stormwater Drainage: your questions answered
Plumbing problems can be extremely frustrating. Our licensed Sydney plumbers are here to provide fast, reliable answers and solutions.
Why does my yard flood when it rains?
Usually because the stormwater system serving it is blocked, broken or was never adequate: silted-up pipes, root intrusion, crushed sections, or downpipes discharging at ground level instead of into drainage. A camera inspection finds which, and the fix ranges from jetting to targeted repair.
What's the difference between sewer and stormwater?
Two separate systems: sewer carries wastewater from toilets, sinks and drains to the utility's mains; stormwater carries rainwater from your roof, paths and yard to the street or council system. They must never cross-connect: rain in the sewer overloads it, and sewage in stormwater is a health hazard.
Do you clear stormwater pits and grates?
Yes, pits, grated channels and the pipes between them. Silt, leaves and garden debris wash in constantly; jetting flushes the whole run clear, and we can put problem pits on a maintenance schedule.
Can tree roots block stormwater pipes?
Very commonly: stormwater lines are often shallower than sewer, right in the root zone, and older ones have joints roots love. Jetting cuts them out; relining or repair seals the entry point permanently.
Guides & Real Jobs
Helpful reading from our plumbers
Guide
Blocked Drain: Can You Fix It Yourself, or Do You Need a Plumber?
Most blocked drains start small: a sink that's draining slower than it used to. A few household items can genuinely clear that. But if sewage is coming up rather than water going down, that's a different problem entirely, and it won't wait until morning.
Case Study · Balgowlah
Blocked Kitchen Drain in Balgowlah: Years of Grease Finally Caught Up
An emergency call to a blocked kitchen drain in Balgowlah traced back to years of grease and oil hardening in the gully, cleared the same visit with high-pressure water jetting.
Case Study · Seaforth
Blocked Sewer Pipe in Seaforth: Cleared With Jetting, Confirmed Clear on Camera
A Sunday afternoon call-out to a blocked sewer pipe in Seaforth: gully overflow traced to root intrusion in an 80-year-old pipe, cleared with high-pressure water jetting and confirmed clear on CCTV camera.
Case Study · Seaforth
Broken Sewer Pipe in Seaforth: Blockage Backs Up and Floods the Bathroom
A Friday afternoon emergency in Seaforth: a sewer pipe cracked by ground movement had been catching baby wipes for months until it blocked solid and sewage backed up into the lower bathroom. Cleared in three hours, then rerouted around the break.
Case Study · Wheeler Heights
Garage Flooding in Wheeler Heights: Fixing 30 Years of Water Seepage Behind the Slab
A Wheeler Heights garage had water seeping in behind it for 30 years because the ag-line and blue metal drainage was never wrapped in geotextile fabric and the brick and slab were never waterproofed. Here's how we fixed it without adding more pipe.
Case Study · Allambie Heights
Sloping Block Drainage in Allambie Heights: Stopping Stormwater Pooling Against the House
A retaining wall in Allambie Heights was holding back a sloping block, but runoff from the hill and the house above kept finding its way through the backyard and pooling against the house below. Here's how we caught it and redirected it away for good.
Case Study · Mona Vale
Water Under the House in Mona Vale: Old Terracotta Pipes and No Subsoil Drainage
A Mona Vale home had water leaking through the brickwork and running under the house. The cause was old terracotta stormwater pipe, cracked and full of tree roots. New PVC piping and a subsoil drainage system stopped it for good.
Get In Touch
Contact Your Local Plumber in Sydney
Ready Plumbing is a Sydney-based and fully-licensed plumbing business with more than 20 years of experience, offering a range of residential and commercial plumbing solutions and emergency plumbing 24/7. Get in touch and we'll respond promptly.
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