Why Tree Roots Rule Blocked Drains on the Northern Beaches
If there’s one thing that defines drainage on the Northern Beaches, it’s trees. One of the most green-fingered areas of Sydney, it is surrounded by the Garigal and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Parks, and its detached-home suburbs are renowned for their leafy streets and large well-established gardens. The Council area is approximately 254 square kilometres, with much of this land classified as national park and bushland. It’s a lovely area to live in. It’s also a haven for tree root growth, and one of an old sewer pipe’s greatest enemies is tree roots.
Here’s how it works. Much of the Northern Beaches grew from the 1950s and many of the houses retain their original earthenware and clay sewer drains. These fixed clay joints crack over the decades because of ground movement, age and the sandy soil that moves around them. A split joint allows a certain amount of moisture and nutrients to seep into the soil around the tree; tree roots are looking for that. They make their way into the gap, grow to form thick fibrous masses inside the pipe, and block all waste materials that are introduced into the pipe.
The Beaches are surrounded by national park bushland and lined by mature gum trees, paperbarks and the like, which all give roots every opportunity. Root intrusion into cracked clay drains is by far the biggest cause of the blockages we unclog here, and root growth is inevitable so doing nothing more than clearing is only ever a short-term solution unless the cracked joint they got through is sealed.
Roots aren’t the only factor. The soils throughout the peninsula are sandy and constantly moving and washing out pipe joints. The areas around Narrabeen Lagoon, Manly Lagoon and the Pittwater estuary are on high water table land, and groundwater seepage flows into cracked drains. Older houses in the area have in general old pipework. We cover all parts of the peninsula, and we know what’s going on below.
Northern Beaches Drainage: The Numbers
Most of the Northern Beaches Council area is national park and bushland, with mature trees growing around the homes whose roots have grown into old drains.
Non-flushable wet wipes are by far the most common cause of waste blockages in Sydney’s sewers, and they tend to get caught easily on an old blockage often filled with roots.
How fast tree roots can regrow into a cleared pipe if the cracked joint hasn’t been properly sealed, as shown by Sydney Water. Applicable to the leafy heritage neighbourhoods.
How fast tree roots can regrow into a pipe that isn’t sealed at a cracked joint, as revealed by Sydney Water. Very pertinent here.
This is the typical warranty of a relined pipe, the permanent solution to the Northern Beaches drainage problem, which is dominated by roots.
Data is sourced from Northern Beaches Council area data, Sydney water blockages and root regrowth data, and the pipe relining industry warranty.
What Actually Blocks Drains on the Beaches
Sandy soil and lagoon-edge streets, bushland-wrapped older detached homes, what we find most.
Tree Roots in Clay Drains
The signature of the Northern Beaches. The old sewer drains of the region crack, and buried under national park, bushland and large leafy gardens, roots penetrate them looking for water. They develop into masses which block the flow. It does not last long, since the roots will reappear within approximately 11 months, but relining is the real solution.
Sandy Soil Movement
The soils of the peninsula are mostly sandy coastal soils that change over time due to their ability to shift, wash, and settle. The movement puts pressure on hard pipe connections, which can cause them to crack, allowing roots and ground water to enter the pipe. Fine sand on the sandy ground also gets into cracks, builds up and causes blockages in pipes. A camera is used to help determine the location of a pipe failure.
Lagoon-Edge Groundwater
Streets adjacent to Narrabeen Lagoon, Manly Lagoon and the Pittwater estuary are located on low-lying, high water table areas. Groundwater seeps through cracks in the drains, filling them to overflowing, leading to slow flow and backup; this is not because of what is being put in the drain, but because of what is being put in the ground. Relining prevents the ground water from entering.
Wet Wipes and Buildup
According to Sydney Water, the main source of wastewater blockages is non-flushable wet wipes, accounting for 75%. Wipes catch and accumulate easily in the rough, old clay pipes which are ubiquitous throughout the Beaches, and around any root mass. Add them to the kitchen fats and oils and they are a part of the blockages we unclog, week in, week out, across the peninsula.
Aging & Septic-Era Drainage
The bushland and Pittwater fringes of the Beaches were on septic systems before sewer was introduced and pockets of older septic systems are still found. Ageing septic connections, old absorption trenches and early sewer lines all cause problems as they reach the end of their life. We diagnose and clear these, and recommend upgrades where necessary.
Cracked & Collapsed Pipe
Old clay pipes split and deteriorate on the hard headland blocks and on the sand that has been deposited on the peninsula over the years. Where a sag, or a sag and a break, appear in the same spot, the blockage repeats there, and where the pipe has fully collapsed, it blocks there. A camera inspection will reveal these structural issues, which can only be addressed by excavation.
Six Signs a Blocked Drain Is Building
Roots are gnawing away at the sewer line in a leafy Northern Beaches home, so catching these early matters.
The Same Drain Blocks Every Few Months
The classic root symptom. If the drain keeps jamming in the same location, it’s almost always due to a broken joint that roots are getting into. Like topping-up the toilet tank, clearing gives temporary relief, sealing with relining makes it permanent.
Gurgling Toilet or Drains
A blockage is usually partial, caused by a mass of roots, and forces air up through the closest water seal, creating a gurgle. The first sign of roots in a sewer in Northern Beaches often is a gurgling toilet.
Multiple Fixtures Draining Slowly
A blockage in the sewer line, not at any single fixture, is indicated when all the kitchen, shower, and toilet drains are slow. In an older home, that typically is the old clay pipe to the street.
Foul Smell or Lush Lawn Patch
A foul odour from the sewer, or the presence of a strange green and moist area of the yard, may indicate a sewer pipe crack that is leaking into the ground, the very thing the roots blocking the pipe are drawn to. Widespread on large leafy Beaches.
Poor Drainage After Rain
If drainage slows down during and after periods of heavy rains, the cracked joints are open to infiltration by groundwater, an overload of the line without any input from you.
Water Backing Up in Lower Fixtures
If the water in the shower or on the floor is running when flushing, the line is blocked downstream. Be sure to act soon, particularly before you travel away from a holiday home.
How We Clear and Repair Drains
CCTV Drain Camera Inspection
DiagnosticThe camera is a must-have for the Beaches’ clay drains that are prone to getting roots. It will pinpoint the root location, pipe cracking, pipe sagging and root extent. We record the footage and show it to you. Most importantly, it will let you know if you are dealing with a once-a-year blockage or if you have a structural issue to be addressed with relining, so you aren’t spending money to unclog the same root blockage each season.
High-Pressure Jet Blasting
ClearingA high-pressure water jet is used to plough through root masses, wet wipes, grease and sand, and clears the pipe’s full bore. Roots are more effectively removed by jetting with a root-cutting head than by using a drain snake, which simply cuts a hole through the root. We confirm the results and honestly let you know if the roots will come back without relining.
Pipe Relining
No-Dig Repai Permanent FixThe true remedy of the root cause of the Beaches’ issue. Relining forms a new uninterrupted pipe inside the old clay pipe, thus sealing the broken joints through which the roots had penetrated, while avoiding the need to excavate large established gardens, steep blocks or bushland surrounds. The smooth interior won’t gather dirt either. Relined pipes come with 35+ year warranties, making it a one-time solution.
Excavation and Replacement
When NecessaryIf a clay pipe has completely failed and cannot be relined, the broken pipe must be excavated and replaced. This is careful work, on the Beaches’ large blocks of bush and steep headland sites, and involves careful planning of access, protection of trees and landscaping, and restoration of the surface. When relining isn’t feasible, excavation is the recommended option.
We clear blocked drains all over the peninsula, from Manly to Palm Beach. Some of the suburbs we visit more frequently are:
Manly & Fairlight
Older houses and flats close to harbour and sea; older trees in the streets.
Freshwater & Curl Curl
Residential areas along beaches with old clay sewer drains and trees.
Dee Why & Cromer
Mixed housing, established gardens, Beaches' commercial centre.
Collaroy & Narrabeen
Groundwater and low ground drainage, lagoon edge and beachfront streets.
Mona Vale & Warriewood
Newer and older houses, bush surrounding, growing area.
Newport & Bilgola
Large trees, steep bushy blocks between Pittwater and the ocean.
Avalon & Clareville
Large leafy blocks and mature gardens, good root-intrusion country.
Palm Beach & Whale Beach
Barrenjoey tip, bushland and headland homes, older drainage.
Balgowlah & Seaforth
Mature gardens and bushland edges in established Middle Harbour homes.
Frenchs Forest & Belrose
The Forest District, heavily wooded bushland where roots get into the drains.
Brookvale & Beacon Hill
Combination of residential & industrial use, ageing drainage.
Your suburb
Bayview, Church Point, Elanora Heights and more, get in touch.
Why Your Drain Keeps Blocking With Roots
Northern Beaches homeowners ask this most often: “we had this drain cleaned last year, why is it clogged this year?” The correct answer is “roots”, and it has to do with how root blockages actually work.
Roots can enter the pipe through a cracked clay joint, and form a mass in the pipe. If the blockage is removed (even after a root-cutting jet) it takes away the mass, but not the crack through which the roots came. The roots of the plant still live and are still trying to find water inside. Sydney Water has observed roots regrowing into a cleared pipe within about eleven months. Clearing a root blockage isn’t a fix, it’s on a timer.
It’s important here, more than anywhere else, as the Northern Beaches are so well treed: national parks are right on our doorstep, bushland reserves are everywhere and big established gardens with mature trees, canopy trees in abundance. The roots have no end of opportunity. The only way to permanently prevent them is to seal the entry point, and relining does just that: a smooth, jointless lining within the old pipe, no crack for roots to push through. We don’t just book you in for another clear next year when we identify a root, we use the camera footage to show you the choice, and the option is relining.
Bushland, Septic History and Older Drainage
In some areas, the Northern Beaches were not sewered until later. Much of the peninsula continued to be largely rural and semi-rural well into the 20th century; development was concentrated in bushland valleys and along the coast, with parts of the peninsula using septic systems before the sewer system was extended, especially in the bushland margins and Pittwater.
The legacy is a landscape of varied drainage ages including early sewered areas, some areas with old septic connections and absorption trenches, and older suburbs with old earthenware. When these systems are at the end of their service life, they create issues, such as blockages, leaks, slow drainage, and septic failures in unsewered pockets.
It’s spread throughout the peninsula. The answer lies in a camera inspection, as that will provide you with all the information needed to determine what kind of drainage you have and the condition of it, whether it requires a clear, a reline or, in the case of an older septic system, a sewer connection or upgrade. On the Beaches, half the battle is knowing what is beneath your property.
How a Drain Call-Out Works
Let us know where the problem is occurring (such as a suburb) and what it is (slow drains, backup, gurgling, a persistent blockage or smell in the garden). A plumber comes to your home.
A CCTV camera is inserted into the line to determine the cause (roots, cracked clay joint, groundwater, sand or a clog) and to identify exactly where it is located.
Full flow is restored by jet blasting with a root-cutting head. Clear price before work commences, and confirmed with a second camera pass.
If the root problem or a cracked pipe is the issue, we show you the footage and tell you whether relining will stop it coming back, your informed choice.
What Our Customers Say
“As would happen every year, our drain became blocked with roots and they cleaned it out with a camera, pointed to the crack, and had it filled with a liner. Two years later, no blockage had ever occurred”
“Attended to my enquiry within 48 hours, a reasonable price and highly recommend them for your plumbing services”
“Very quick and excellent service, gave a precise description of what they were seeing in the garden with the cam footage, highly recommended, thank you again.”
Blocked Drains Northern Beaches: FAQ
Blocked Drain on the Northern Beaches?
If it keeps blocking, clearing alone won’t take care of the root cause. Call us and we’ll find what’s really causing the trouble with a camera, then sort it out, clear or reline, your informed decision.
