Case Study – Blocked Storm Water Pipe in Moonee Ponds

Essendon Plumbing Services received a call from a previous client, Kelly, who had uncovered storm water problems in Moonee Ponds while having a new fence installed. Whilst excavating post holes for her new front fence, the fencing contractors kept encountering water pooling in the post holes, they were concerned the property had a burst or clogged storm water pipe.

Kelly contacted Essendon Plumbing Services and requested an emergency plumbing response as the fencing contractors were going to have to stop work if the leaking pipe could not be found fast.

Matt, our Operations Manager, organised for Lee to attend, an experienced storm water plumber, to attend Kelly’s home first job the following morning.

Arrival at Site

Lee arrived at 7.30am as scheduled and discussed with the Kelly what the plumbing problem was, he then devised a plan to commence the investigation into why the holes were filling with water.

• Was it a blocked or leaking pipe?
• Was it a burst mains water pipe?

Investigation

Lee first checked the water meter to see if it was ticking over and placed a test on the water pipe, the mains water pipe held solid under pressure and showed no signs of a water leak.

Kelly told Lee that she had noticed mould had recently started to grow on some of her floorboards in the front bedroom. Lee inspected the floorboards and noticed that they did seem damp, and mould was active in the area.

He then inspected around the perimeter of the home and underneath, noticing the ground was very damp and puddles had formed in some areas. Lee then suspected there was an issue with the storm water system on the property, either it was broken or blocked causing water to back up and overflow under and around the house.

Simple Water Test

Lee then inspected the legal point of discharge for the storm water, and it was located at the kerb and channel in the street. Lee carried out a simple water test by running water into the storm water drain from the garden hose, then inspecting whether the water was discharging into the street.

It was clear in a short period of time that the storm water pipe was clogged and not discharging into the street, the storm water pipes were completely blocked. The blocked drains were causing rainwater to leak out of the pipes at all the joins that were not sealed such as where the downpipes from the roof join onto the storm water pipe and the storm water grates in the paved areas.

CCTV Inspection

Lee set up the high-pressure water jet and proceeded to try and clear the clogged storm water drain. Lee removed a downpipe and ran the high-pressure water jet down the drain, but he was getting continually stuck in the same location.

He suspected the drain may have broken in this spot, so then tried to pressure jet the drain from downstream entering at the legal point of discharge at the kerb and channel but once again kept getting stuck in the same location.

It was clear now that there was a clogged drain, so Lee carried out a drainage inspection using CCTV to locate the blocked drain and provide a depth of the pipe prior to digging it up.