Tarneit
Blocked, burst or leaking in Tarneit?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Tarneit, from the eastern estates to the Werribee River farmland, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Tarneit
Estate drains on basalt plains clay
Tarneit grew quickly as farmland was snapped up by developers, so most houses are estate homes of the last two decades. Their PVC drains have glued joints, and a blockage is more often builder's debris, a sagging run or a pipe crushed under a driveway than roots.
The suburb sits on the basaltic Werribee plains, where heavy clay over rock shrinks in summer and swells in winter. Sewer and stormwater runs crack and sag at the joints as it moves, and a trench may strike rock not far down.
In the north east, a bluestone well beside Skeleton Creek was dug down through the bedrock, which shows how close the basalt lies under the topsoil there. A new trench in that part of the suburb is quoted with a rock saw or breaker in mind.
Jobs in Tarneit
Glued joints, reactive clay and rock
Blocked drains
Builder's debris and sagging PVC runs in the newer estates.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera first, to find a crushed or bellied section before any dig.
Leak detection
Water lines that move with the reactive clay, traced before a slab or path is opened.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Tarneit questions
Sewer clearances, site discharge and river lots
How near a sewer main can a drain repair go without consent?
Greater Western Water wants its consent before work within an easement, within one metre of a sewer main, or close to a maintenance hole, a branch or an inspection shaft. A repair near the boundary is checked against the property's sewer plan, because the job cannot start until written consent arrives.
Does a drainage design need anything before pipes are sized?
Yes, on a development. Wyndham strongly suggests getting a Permissible Site Discharge from its stormwater engineers before drainage design begins, and the submission then needs an endorsed plan and a discharge point document.
Do farm lots on the river side drain the same way?
No. Tarneit's western (rural) boundary is the Werribee River, and lots out there drain toward the river rather than into an estate pit network. Melbourne Water's flood information and the real discharge point are checked before a stormwater line is sized or relaid.
Is an owners corporation ever involved in a blocked drain here?
Almost never. Of all the dwellings counted at the last census, only forty one were flats or apartments, so nearly every sewer branch serves one lot, one owner and one connection point.
