How a sewer fails
A sewer line fails in three main ways: it blocks (roots, grease, a sag, or building debris), it collapses (a broken terracotta or PVC section), or it surcharges because the authority main downstream is overloaded. The first two are private and yours; the third can be the authority's. We work out which it is before we quote, because a surcharge from the main is a Gippsland Water call, not a plumber's bill.
The overflow relief gully
The overflow relief gully (ORG) is the grated fitting outside — usually near the laundry or bathroom — that lets a surcharged sewer overflow outside the home instead of through the floor waste inside. It is a safety device, not a drain. If your ORG is buried under soil, paved over, concreted in, or sitting below the level of the floor waste, a sewer surcharge will come up inside the house. We clear, raise, reinstate and regrade ORGs to the right level as part of a proper sewer job.
Tree roots in terracotta
In the older Traralgon and Morwell stock, terracotta sewer laterals are the root-magnet. Joints open over decades, roots find the moisture, and a mat of root and sludge closes the line. We cut the roots with a jetter (not just an eel), run CCTV to find the entry point, and tell you whether a localised repair, a patch, or a line replacement is the right spend. We do not recommend a full line replacement for one root ball.
Grease, fat and the kitchen line
On the food-premises side — the cafes and kitchens on Franklin and Kay — grease and fat are the sewer killer. A grease arrestor that is not pumped out regularly lets grease into the line, where it sets and slowly closes the pipe. We clear grease blockages, size and maintain grease arrestors, and set the trade-waste discharge to the Gippsland Water requirements so the business stays open and compliant.
The Gippsland Water boundary
The boundary between the private sewer lateral and the Gippsland Water main is usually at the property boundary or the connection point to the authority's main. We locate the boundary, identify where the blockage sits, and where it is on the authority's side we tell you to log the job with Gippsland Water rather than paying us to fix it. Where it is on your side, we give you a written quote before we dig.
Sewer smells and dry seals
A sewer smell in a bathroom or laundry that is rarely used is often a dry floor-waste seal — the water in the trap has evaporated and the sewer gas is coming up. The fix is to run water into the floor waste to refill the seal. A persistent smell with water in the traps is a cracked seal or a broken line, and we trace it with CCTV. We do not ignore sewer gas — it is a health issue.
Sewer relining vs replacement
A sewer that has failed in one section does not always need a full dig-up. Where the camera shows a single root ball, a cracked joint or a localised collapse on an otherwise sound line, a localised dig-up and repair in PVC is the right spend — we cut out the faulted section, rejoin to the sound terracotta or PVC, and reinstate the surface. Where the whole run is open-jointed and root-invaded, a full replacement in PVC is the honest answer, and we will show you the footage so the decision is yours. Trenchless relining is an option on some lines where access is difficult — a liner is pulled through the existing pipe and cured — but it is not cheaper than an open cut where the line is shallow, and we will tell you when it is the right tool and when it is not. We do not push the expensive option to fix a localised fault.