North East Water

North East Water manages more than 1,000 kilometres of sewer mains across the region.  These mains collect household, commercial and industrial waste from more than 38,000 homes, businesses and factories, and transport it to our wastewater treatment plants for treatment.

In managing such an extensive network, we deal periodically with sewer boockages and overflows caused by the build-up of fats or solid material, the intrusion of tree roots, and sometimes the degradation of the sewer pipes themselves.  Many blockages are minor, and do not result in spillages to the environment.

North East Water minimises these sewer incidents through the sewerage system maintenance program, which includes pressure cleaning, chemical removal of tree roots (root foaming), and, for problematc areas, sewer relining.

Repairs to blockages generally require the use od pressure cleaning equipment.  We have two pressure cleaners that are shared throughout the region, and it can take up to two hours to access the equipment if a blockage occurs in one of our more remote towns.  Travel time can be a significant factor in the time taken to unblock a sewer.