Stormwater Connection Points and Drainage Asset Details

An LPD is your Legal Point of Discharge

A legal point of discharge is the point of connection to a drain, specified by Council where stormwater from a private property must be discharged. This connection could be into a pipe, pit, kerb and channel, open drain, Melbourne Water drain, or a private drain if suitable.

In rural areas where Council doesn’t have any infrastructure an onsite absorption system(PDF, 22KB) may be required.

Your LPD permit does not include the size, depth & offset of any stormwater pipes, this is called Stormwater Asset Details and can be applied for separately using Council's eHume service, (fees apply).

What is Stormwater

Stormwater is water draining off a site from rainfall on a roof and land. This water is captured through the drainage network of pipes, pits and open drains and ultimately discharged to the waterways. Stormwater is controlled by a separate system to sewage or groundwater as these are not discharged into our drain system.

All stormwater generated on private property (from the roof or paved areas) must be discharged to Council drains and property owners must have Council approval to do this. Approval to connect land to a stormwater drain is required under General Local Law No. 1 2013. This is known as a Legal Point of Discharge permit (fees apply).

A 'legal point of discharge' for the property must be obtained from Council before a building permit is issued for any work that incorporates a drainage system. The relevant building surveyor will ensure that the design of the internal drainage system is in accordance with the recommendations of that approval and that the drainage is connected to the specified point of discharge.

Can I request a second LPD?

Are you building a second dwelling on your property and would like to request an additional legal point of discharge?

• If you already have an LPD please email contactus@hume.vic.gov.au - Attn: Civil Design, with a plan showing where you would like to construct the second LPD.
• If you don't already have an LPD you will need to apply for one using Council's eHume Service. When you receive your LPD you can reply to this with a request for a second point. You must include a plan showing where the second point is proposed.

Each request will be assessed and responded to via email.

Always check your town planning permit for confirmation whether drainage plans are needed to be approved by Council's Civil Design department. However, generally the following rules apply:

Does your development proposal consist of 3 or more dwellings on the one titled property? This includes 2 new dwellings adjacent to an existing dwelling

Yes - you will need to apply for a drainage investigation and an LPD using Council's eHume Service.

No - then an LPD will be sufficient. This includes 2 dwellings only on the one titled property.

Are you changing the use of the land (ie. from residential to commercial; childcare centre; or medical centre)?

Yes - you will need to apply for a drainage investigation and an LPD using Council's eHume Service.

How do I submit my drainage plans and computations to Council's Civil Design department for approval?

Plans are assessed by Council's Civil Design department when a drainage investigation has been previously submitted. You can submit you application using Council's eHume Service (fees apply).

When your application has been submitted, your plans can be delivered to Council at one of our customer service centres or email them to contactus@hume.vic.gov.au - Att: Civil Design.

Every property owner has the responsibility to discharge water that lands on their property to their nominated Legal Point of Discharge. If you are concerned about an unreasonable amount of stormwater running from neighbouring properties onto your land, the first thing to do is discuss the matter with your neighbour directly.

Furthermore, both parties can find out more information from the Victorian Legislation - Water Act 1989 - see Section 16.

The Water Act 1989 is administered and enforced by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). In the event the issue is not attended to, the affected parties have the right to refer the matter to VCAT for resolution.

Council has no legislative powers to enforce stormwater discharge that occurs between private properties.

Further information relating to the Water Act may be obtained by contacting Victoria Legal Aid on 9269 0120.

Property owners are responsible for all drainage infrastructure related to the drainage of private property. This includes all drainage up to the point of connection to the Council asset, known as the Legal Point of Discharge. This means that stormwater runoff from private land is your responsibility until it reaches a point of connection with Council’s stormwater infrastructure. This includes if the property's stormwater discharges to the roadside kerb (public land) or onto a neighbouring property.

The property owner is responsible for ensuring that their stormwater pipes are connected to the Council nominated Legal Point of Discharge. Often in new developments house connection points are provided by the developer to make connection easier for the residents. However, these house connections are still a part of the private drainage system and therefore are the responsibility of the property owner. 

Issues with private drains should be addressed by a licensed plumber. Council does not repair blocked or damaged private drains.

Under the Water Act 1989 (Section 16), residents and property owners:

• are liable for flow of water from their land
• have a duty of car not to interfere with the flow of water
• must not participate in negligent conduct that will interfere with the flow of water onto any land

Council is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the public stormwater network system. This includes Council's pipes, pits, pit lids and in rural areas open drains and culverts. Some of these assets can be contained within an easement located on private property. Council requires access to these easements in order to maintain these stormwater assets.

To report a suspected issue with Council's drainage network and request an inspection, please submit a request online using the online form found on Council's Contact Us page.

Council is not responsible for plumbing and drainage internally to your property - See 'What are property owners responsible for' above.

Council also owns and maintains some water quality treatments such as gross pollutant traps, lakes, wetlands and public raingardens. The purpose of these is to remove rubbish and pollutants before stormwater discharges into natural waterways. However some of these treatments are owned and operated by Melbourne Water.

If you have any queries regarding any of these types of infrastructure or wish to report any faults, please contact Hume City Council at contactus@hume.vic.gov.au or by phoning 9205 2200.

Stormwater Map Search

Lodging a free Dial Before You Dig enquiry is the essential first step in finding out if Council has any infrastructure on your property or neighbouring properties.  Infrastructure assets can be located anywhere, and underground assets may be closer to the surface than expected.

The Dial Before You Dig referral service offers a single point of contact to request information about the infrastructure networks at the planned excavation site, commercial or residential.

Please note that generally no habitable structures are approved by Hume City Council to be built over any easement.  However, any other approvals given by Council are based on the understanding and acceptance that Council can request the structure or works to be removed at any time in order to access the easement.

If you need to apply for consent to Build Over an Easement, please see Council’s Application for Report and Consent Form which can be found under the Building Applications tab on the Submit a Building or Planning Application page.

Does your planning permit require you to submit a Stormwater Management Plan to address Clause 53.18 Stormwater Management in Urban Development and Clause 22.19 Industrial Stormwater Management Policy(PDF, 704KB)?

If so, please email your Stormwater Management Plan to contactus@hume.vic.gov.au - Att: Sustainable Environment Department, quoting your Planning Permit number, Deemed to Comply Report, STORM Report or MUSIC Report.

Further information can be found on Council's Planning Guidelines and Zoning page, including fact sheets on Industrial Stormwater Compliance.