Wonga Park
Blocked, burst or leaking in Wonga Park?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Wonga Park, from the hall reserve to the primary school oaks, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Wonga Park
A population that nearly tripled in a decade
Housing came in a rush after the subdivisions in Croydon and Mooroolbark: the census population was about a thousand in the early nineties and 2950 in 2001. Many homes are of nineties age with later pipe materials, and older village-era plumbing is likely only around the old village.
Yarra Valley Water has brought new sewerage to the suburb, and it says property owners are still legally responsible for maintaining their septic system until the sewer is connected. A blocked drain on an unconnected property may lead back to the tank, and connecting means the tank is disconnected and the house drain joined to the sewer point.
A planning scheme amendment applies a Bushfire Management Overlay to approximately 600 properties in Wonga Park, and a new home in the overlay must allow for on site water supply. Tank and firefighting water plumbing is then planned with the building permit, while repairs on existing homes need no change.
Jobs in Wonga Park
Tanks, sewer points and newer pipe
Blocked drains
House drains to septic tanks on properties still waiting to join the sewer.
Leak detection
Hidden leaks in the nineties homes found before a wall or slab is opened.
Roof leaks
Storm leaks traced on houses among big trees, where gutters fill fast.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Wonga Park questions
Heritage oaks, the hall pines and a schoolroom roof
Can roots from the school oaks be blamed for a slow drain?
They may be. The Algerian Oak beside the toilet block at the primary school was recorded as lifting the paving, and the four oaks there are in the heritage overlay. Drains nearby are filmed first, because the protected tree is not coming out.
Does drain work at Wonga Park Hall need a heritage check?
Yes. The hall sits in a reserve in the heritage overlay that keeps remnants of the original local vegetation, with large pines near the hall as a cultural planting. Drain, tap or downpipe work there starts with the overlay, and a dig in the reserve should expect big pine roots.
Can the gutters on the old schoolroom be swapped for modern ones?
Not without a check. The timber schoolroom, the only Edwardian school in the municipality, has expressed timbering in the gable and Kemp & Sheehan conical roof vents. Its gutters, downpipes and vents are under heritage controls, so like for like replacement and a permit check come before any change.
