EMERGENCY — SURCHARGE
Sewage through the laundry on a king tide — and the valve that stopped it.
01 — PROJECT OVERVIEW
A family two streets from Botany Bay had paid five times over three years to have their drains cleared after sewage came up through the laundry floor waste. Every plumber cleared the line, found little, and left.
02 — THE CHALLENGE
The property's own drainage was not blocked. The street sits barely above bay level, and when heavy rain coincided with a high tide the main surcharged and pushed back toward the lowest opening in the house — which happened to be their laundry.
03 — OUR APPROACH
1Camera-surveyed the full line to the boundary and confirmed it was clear, which reframed the problem entirely.
2Correlated the family's flooding dates against tide and rainfall records, and the pattern was unmistakable.
3Installed a non-return valve on the property's drainage so surcharge in the main cannot flow back toward the house.
4Raised the laundry floor waste arrangement and explained what the valve does and does not protect against.
04 — THE OUTCOME
✓Two summers on, no further internal flooding.
✓Stopped paying for drain clears that were never going to fix it.
✓Written explanation of the cause for their insurer, who had previously queried repeat claims.
✓Valve is accessible for periodic checking rather than buried.