Who Is Responsible for Water Pipes
The dividing line for water pipes in Burpengary sits at one fitting: the water meter. Unitywater, which runs the water supply across this part of Moreton Bay, looks after the public main, the meter itself and every line heading back toward the street.
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So who is responsible for water pipes past that meter? The property owner, for the pipes leading from the meter into the yard and on to every tap. We work on that owner's stretch as the plumber Burpengary households call for burst pipes and hidden leaks, and every job is done by a licensed plumber.
Where Utility Pipes End and Yours Begin
Unitywater's side ends at the meter, and yours begins the moment a pipe passes it. The utility keeps the meter and the lines toward the street in working order, while the pipes leading into your property are yours to maintain.
That split is the whole answer: the utility up to and including the meter, the owner past it. The split matters most when something goes wrong, because it decides who you call and who pays.
The shape of the suburb makes the owner's stretch a real one. Flats and apartments made up just 0.5 per cent of dwellings here at the last census, so nearly every household owns a full private pipe run rather than sharing a short one.
From the Water Main to the Kitchen Tap
Here is the journey from the street to your kitchen, stretch by stretch:
The public water main
, buried in the street: a Unitywater asset.
The pipe feeding the meter from the main
also Unitywater's, and a leak there is for its crews.
The water meter
the utility's as well, along with its valves.
The pipes from the meter to your fixtures
, taps included: yours, all the way to the last outlet.
Comparing the two sides shows why the meter marks the boundary. The utility's pipes serve many homes at once, while yours serve only yours, so the owner carries the upkeep of the private run.
Burpengary spreads its homes across generous blocks, with an estimated 856.7 residents per square kilometre at area level, and the rural-residential lots on the edges carry the longest private runs of all. More metres of pipe simply means more pipe that belongs to you.
What the Owner Looks After Past the Meter
Your list of jobs covers every fault found in the pipes after the meter:
A leak anywhere past the meter onto your land
, a concealed leak included: yours to arrange and pay for.
A blockage in those same pipes
also yours, from the supply line in the ground to the last fixture.
The repair work itself
Queensland's regulator classes fixing a broken pipe as minor work, so a licensed plumber carries it out, with neither a permit nor a Form 4 required.
Unitywater also expects owners to stay on the front foot. The utility's advice is not to rely on it alone to flag a leak, so reading your own meter now and then to check for problems is part of the owner's job.
None of this needs a specialist. A licensed plumber handles all of it as routine work, from a weeping joint near the meter to a supply line split under a garden bed.
What the Utility Does and Does Not Cover
You carry the loss for a hidden leak, and only Unitywater's concealed leaks policy can soften it. The policy puts primary responsibility for water leaks and the losses from them on the property owner, for leaks on the property and from the meter alike.
A concealed leak, in Unitywater's terms, is water escaping on the customer's side of the meter that sits out of sight. The leak has to be one an owner could not reasonably have known about, hidden below ground, beneath a slab or within a structure.
What the utility does not cover matters just as much:
Other types of leaks
no allowance exists for them under the policy.
Plumbing repair costs
the utility does not contribute to fixing any leak, concealed or otherwise.
An owner who has had a hidden leak repaired may be eligible for an allowance if the policy's criteria are met. That is the only relief on offer, which is why catching a leak early is worth the effort.
When to Call a Plumber About a Leak
Call a plumber when the signs point to a fault on your stretch of pipe:
- a damp patch or a strip of lawn that stays greener than everything around it and never dries out
- pressure that drops at several taps at once rather than one
- a water account that climbs although your habits have not changed
Each of these fits a leak in the pipes past the meter, the part a licensed plumber repairs. Our hidden leak tracing page shows how we pin one down before anyone digs.
Water Meter and Pipe Questions
Call (07) 3524 7137Is the water meter at my place mine to maintain?
No, the meter at a Burpengary home belongs to Unitywater, which is responsible for the water meter and keeps it working. Your own pipes start after it, and the fittings past that point are the ones you maintain.
Who fixes a leak on the street side of the meter?
Unitywater does. The utility is responsible for the water meter and the pipes that run away from the property, and a leak in that stretch is for its crews. Tell the utility, and we take over the moment a fault sits past the meter.
Who services and replaces the water meter?
Unitywater handles that too, because the meter is its asset. If yours reads oddly, plays up or suffers damage, tell the utility rather than touching it yourself. We pick up every job on the pipes behind it.
Who pays for the water a leak wastes?
You do, as the owner. Unitywater's policy puts primary responsibility for leaks and their losses on the property owner, so a hidden leak runs up your account until it is fixed. An owner who has had one repaired may qualify for an allowance under the policy's criteria.
Talk to Us About Your PipesWe'll call you back.
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