Stormwater Bylaw - know your responsibilities

Stormwater bylaw
Development and flooding risks
Maintenance
Protection of the environment
Glossary

The Stormwater Management Bylaw is a detailed set of requirements for developers and anyone maintaining existing properties.

The bylaw guides effective stormwater management, helping protect people, property and the environment by minimising the impact of flooding, erosion and environmental pollution resulting from stormwater.

To make a real difference everyone needs to take responsibility for the stormwater on their property.

The bylaw aims to:

• Ensure the safe and efficient creation, operation, maintenance, and renewal of stormwater systems
• Ensure that development proposals fully take into account stormwater hazard management i.e. flooding and erosion, and environmental protection
• Minimise the adverse effects on the local environment, particularly freshwater ecological systems and beach water quality
• Ensure that private stormwater systems are properly maintained.

The stormwater bylaw applies to both the public and private stormwater systems.

There are three categories considered under the bylaw:

• Development and flooding risk
• Maintenance
• Protection of the environment.

Development and flooding risks

You are required to do the following:

• Get approval from the council before you construct your private stormwater system or alter/divert the public stormwater drains
• Wherever possible implement low-impact stormwater design options at the planning stage of your new development
• Submit as-built drawings of your completed works to the council
• When designing and constructing an access culvert/bridge over a natural watercourse, allow surface water generated from a one in 100-year storm to pass the culvert/bridge without causing flooding to your own or your neighbours property
• Build an appropriate crown (roll-over) for your vehicle crossing, if it falls away from the road kerb line, to prevent stormwater overflowing from the road channel and running down your driveway.

Landscape and pave your section so that:

• Stormwater run-off is directed away from your buildings and does not cause a nuisance to neighouring properties
• Hard surfaces are kept to a minimum so that less run-off will be generated
• Your habitable building floor is at least 225mm and 150mm above unpaved and paved surrounding land, respectively.

Do not:

• Drain stormwater into wastewater drains or allow stormwater to overflow into gully traps
• Build or alter barriers, buildings or structures or landscape within an overland flow path
• Concentrate or direct stormwater run-off from your paved driveway and other impervious areas onto a neighbouring lower property.

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Maintenance

• Maintain the pipes, gutters, down pipes, catchpits, ground soakage holes, detention tanks or any other components of your approved stormwater system on your property.
• Retain and maintain natural watercourses running through your property by preventing obstructions and nurturing riparian vegetation.
• Do not remove or damage any part of the public stormwater system, including plants and aquatic life in wetlands, wet ponds or swales.
• Do not use bark or mulch on your gardens in such a way that may adversely impact on your own or your neighbours' drains, when the material is washed from its original site by rain.

Protection of the environment

• When undertaking any works, ensure silt and sediment is well controlled and unable to enter stormwater drains and other waterways.
• Do not discharge chemicals and other contaminants such as engine oil, paint, fat, pesticides, fertilizer, detergent, grass clippings, rubbish and litter into a stormwater drain, swale or wet pond.
• Do not deposit building material, grass clippings, rubbish and litter where it may be washed into stormwater drains, ponds or swales.

Connection or discharge points

The options for connecting to or discharging stormwater from private property are listed below in priority order:

1. Connection to an existing piped system, preferably through a manhole
2. Discharge into an existing watercourse
3. Discharge into a street channel (subject to assessment criteria)
4. On-site disposal
5. Discharge to the base of a cliff
6. Discharge to estuarine areas
7. Discharge to a beach or council owned reserve

Building over the stormwater system

Building over a watercourse or pipeline is not recommended.

Alternative stormwater systems

We encourage the use of alternative approaches to traditional methods of managing stormwater runoff, such as rain tanks, swales, rain gardens, and wetlands for stormwater management.

Stormwater friendly solutions

Low-impact design

Is a design approach to site development that protects the environment and incorporates natural site features into the stormwater management system.

See also:

Stormwater Management Bylaw PDF
What you can do
Glossary

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