Storms and heavy rainfall
During storms and other wet weather events our water and sewerage network can sometimes be impacted.
- Power outages can affect water pumps and boosters, interrupting your water supply.
- Large volumes of stormwater can get into the sewerage system and heavily diluted sewage can discharge through manholes and other overflow points.
Follow our steps below and stay prepared for storms to keep you, your family, and your home safe.
1. Check your ORG
What is an ORG? An ORG (Overflow Relief Gully) is a grate at ground level that is found outside your property (sometimes near your laundry).
Why is it important? The ORG helps prevent any sewage overflows into your home. If there is a sewer blockage, the cover of the ORG should either pop off or upwards to release excess pressure and direct sewage away from your home.
Steps to take:
1. Make sure grate is loose and not blocked
2. Remove any objects, including pot plants, from the top of the ORG grate
3. Make sure the ORG sits up high enough that stormwater does not drain into it.
4. Make sure your downpipes aren't connected to your ORG.
5. If your ORG is too low, or your downpipes are connected to the ORG then please call a licensed plumber.
Watch! How to check your ORG
Watch! How to stay up to date
2. Stay up to date
You can do a few things online to prepare for storm season - check our water outage map, report water or sewerage issues online and update your phone number in My Account in case we need to send you SMS alerts.
Store drinking water
In case of a water outage, keep at least three days’ supply of fresh water in bottles. That’s about 10 litres/person.
Receive SMS notifications
Update your mobile number in My Account so we can notify you of water outages in your area.
Report a fault online
Use our easy online form to notify us of any faults during storm season, including overflows.
Important links
