Are your trees damaging the water supply or sewerage systems?

Trees can damage water or sewerage systems

Certain trees and shrubs planted too close to sewers, drains, stormwater run-off pipes and water supply pipes can cause pipes to block or break. Plant roots penetrate any imperfections in pipes to access the water within. This could lead to major problems on your property that are extremely inconvenient and expensive to repair, including:

a hidden water leak
a blockage in the sewer main
a sewer overflow.

Before planting, find out from your local council where the water and sewerage pipes are on your property. From the list below, select tree and shrub species that can be planted within a reasonable distance of your pipes to help avoid breaks and blockages.

If you are concerned a tree on public land could be causing problems with the sewer main or your house connection point, contact your local council.

Broken sewerage pipe filled with tree roots

What to plant

Directly above or up to 1.5m away from water supply and sewerage pipes:

Blue flax lily
Tall sedge
Spiny-headed mat-rush
Common tussock grass
Kangaroo grass
Common hovea

Between 1.5m and 3m away from water supply and sewerage pipes:

Austral indigo
Dogwood
Dwarf banksia
Hairy bush pea
Sweet wattle
Woombye bush
Broad–leaved palm lily

More than 3m away from water supply and sewerage pipes:

Blueberry ash
Plum myrtle
Peanut tree

What not to plant

Golden cane palm
Gum tree (large species)
Common fig
Lilly pilly (large species)
Umbrella tree (an environmental weed in this area)
West African tulip (this a Class 3 weed)

Pine tree
Poinciana
Jacaranda
Broad–leafed paperbark
Weeping paperbark
Mango tree

Coral tree
Willow (all types) (this a Class 3 weed)
Camphor Laurel (this a Class 3 weed)
Wisteria
Black bean

Please note: This list is a guide only and is not all inclusive. Your local nursery will be able to advise as to the suitability of other plants that may not be listed here. Additionally, while Unitywater understands the plant species listed here for planting are not likely to cause any root damage to water supply and sewerage pipes, no guarantee towards this is made.

Back to top

Think before you plant