Stormwater drains and Legal Point of Discharge
Yarra City Council owns and operates an extensive network of drainage and stormwater assets.
To report damage or a hazard, please call us immediately on 9205 5555.
Legal Point of Discharge (LPD)
A Legal Point of Discharge (LPD) is the location nominated by Council where stormwater runoff from a property must be discharged into the Council-managed drainage system. The LPD is typically located adjacent to the property boundary or at the lowest practical point of the site and may connect to either an above ground or underground drainage system.
However, in certain circumstances, approval of the LPD may require the construction of a new drainage connection to link the property's stormwater system to the existing underground drainage network.
Note: Council is responsible for maintaining public drainage infrastructure, such as underground drains and kerbside systems. However, any stormwater outlet from your property — including pipes and drains running beneath the footpath to the LPD — is considered private infrastructure. Property owners are responsible for its installation, maintenance, and ongoing management.
Apply online for LPD based on the type of the development, by using the links below
Drainage Design
The drainage design must be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Drainage Design Guidelines. A completed Design Checklist and signed Declaration must be submitted as part of the drainage design package, together with all relevant supporting documentation mentioned in the LPD application portal. Please refer to the links provided below for access to the Design Checklist and Drainage Design Guidelines.
Stormwater management
We manage and operate an extensive network of stormwater and drainage assets designed to protect public infrastructure, as well as private and community properties, from flooding. These systems also help ensure stormwater is safely and effectively discharged into local waterways.
Our drainage network includes but not limited to:
- pits
- pipes
- yanks
- overland flow paths
- roadways
- public open spaces
- retarding basins.
Stormwater assets may be owned and maintained by a range of authorities, including Council, Melbourne Water, VicRoads, and other infrastructure managers. Each asset owner is responsible for the ongoing operation and maintenance of their respective drainage infrastructure.
If you notice a blocked or flooded stormwater drain, you can report it online for investigation and response.
Council responsibilities
The council is responsible for the public drainage system, including:
- Inspecting stormwater drainage assets (pipes, pits, drains).
- Cleaning and maintaining those public assets.
- Upgrading and renewing the drainage network (where feasible).
- Monitoring drainage flow and pipe capacity to ensure the system works properly.
Property owner responsibilities
Property owners are responsible for managing stormwater within their property boundary. This includes:
- Collecting and controlling stormwater runoff on the property.
- Maintaining all stormwater infrastructure within the property, such as pipes, gutters, and drainage systems.
- Managing connections between internal drainage systems and the public drainage network, including any connection point located within a street, laneway, public land, or easement.
Requirements
You must ensure that:
- Stormwater is collected within your property and discharged to the drainage network via the approved legal point of discharge.
- Any flooding or overland flow issues affecting neighbouring properties are resolved in consultation with affected property owners.
- An application for a legal point of discharge (LPD) is submitted and approved before commencing any works where a new discharge point is required or as directed by the relevant building surveyor.
- All household drainage systems are designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with Council standards.
Additionally, we recommend engaging a licensed plumber for any internal drainage work to ensure compliance and effective system performance. If you notice a blocked or flooded Council asset, you can report it online for investigation and response.
Application guidelines
If building works include a stormwater drainage system, you must obtain a report and consent for a building permit.
You also need report and consent if any of the following apply but not limited to:
- The existing stormwater drainage system of your property will be altered
- There is an impact on the effectiveness of the existing stormwater drainage system (this could mean an increase in volume or flow rate of stormwater)
- Connecting to a different drainage asset (e.g. from kerb discharge to an underground drain)
- Constructing a new dwelling or development
- Extending or renovating in a way that increases stormwater runoff
- Connecting to the drainage network for the first time or changing the discharge point
- Increasing the volume or flow of stormwater entering the system
This approach applies to new single dwellings, as well as additions, extensions or outbuildings.
Step 1: Know the requirements
For this type of development, the only options for the legal point of discharge are:
- Connecting directly to the existing internal drainage system, subject to approval.
- Creating a second connection to an above ground discharge location, i.e. kerb or laneway surface.
- A discharge restriction of 10 L/s and connection approved.
- Discharge outlets that sit flush within your private boundary at a height of no more than 150mm from surface level.
- We only accept discharge via gravity to the legal point of discharge.
Please refer to Yarra Standard Drawings 103 [ PDF, 42.55 KB] and Yarra Standard Drawings 104 [ PDF, 43.71 KB] for our standards of kerb connections.
Step 2: Prepare your documentation
You are required to prepare and submit design plans based on this information for your application. This includes lodging all of the following documents:
- copy of existing title plan
- dimensioned site plan- must show total area of property lot in square metres
- copy of feature/level survey plan
- internal civil stormwater plans, including:
- water sustainable urban design (WSUD) systems (rainwater tanks)
- downpipes, pits and pump-well
- ground floor plans showing connection to legal point of discharge.
Additionally, you must lodge the following if your proposal includes one of the following:
- copy of Planning Permit - if you are applying for building works lodged after obtaining a Planning Permit
- copy of Endorsed Drawings from Town Planning (if applicable)
- copy of Endorsed STORM rating report (if applicable)
- Melbourne Water Flood Level advice (if applicable)
- Build Over Easement Permission - if you are seeking approval to build over easement.
Geotech report with groundwater table data and basement plan details - if your property has or will have a basement
Step 3: Lodge your application
Please allow 10-15 business days to receive a response. This timeframe may be longer if we don't receive all required documentation.
Other types of properties include:
- multi unit
- industrial
- commercial
- mixed use.
Step 1: Know the requirements
There is a two-step process:
- Pre-application process - after receiving the mandatory documents, we will advise the drainage requirements ent through a further information request letter, including a list of documentation required for assessment.
- Legal point of discharge assessment - the developer/designer must submit all the details requested by us for a final detailed design assessment.
For the purposes of pre-application, applicants must have applied for a planning permit or have preliminary site design of the proposed development.
Step 2: Prepare your documentation
All applications must be lodged with the following information:
- copy of title plan
- dimensioned site plan- must show total area of property lot in square metres
- copy of detailed feature / level survey plan showing all existing utilities and services including and around the subject site
- plan view of existing property layout
- total hard surface area (m2)
- total soft surface area (m2)
- plan view of proposed property layout
- total hard/imprevious surface area (m2)
- total pervious surface area (m2).
Additionally, please provide the following if the scope of your development is triggered by the below:
- copy of Planning Permit (if applicable)
- Melbourne Water Flood Level Advice - if subject site is within a flood overlay
- Build Over Easement Permission (if applicable)
- geotech report with groundwater table data and basement plan details - if basements are part of the property.
Step 3: Lodge your application
Your application will take 10 - 15 business days from the day we receive all required documentation.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Please visit the Yarra standard drawings page
An easement is a section of land, usually shown on your property title, that is set aside for important services like stormwater drains, sewers, or overland water flow. Even if there are no visible pipes, the land may still be reserved for future use.
Under legislation, if you plan to build over an easement that is owned or managed by Council (even just partially), you must first get Council’s written approval. This process is known as a report and consent, and it is required under Regulation 130(1) of the Building Regulations 2018.
Greater Western Water is responsible for the potable water networks (main water supply/water mains) and the sewerage drain networks in Yarra.
You can ask Greater Western Water to inspect water coming up from under the road (generally a burst water main).
Greater Western Water is responsible for repairing damaged pipes and inspecting sewer-like odour from drains.
Please call Greater Western Water on 13 44 99.
CCTV footage of the drainage assets may be requested for larger building sites.
If cleaning is required this will be paid for and carried out by Yarra City Council. Post works footage is required to confirm drains have been protected during the works.
You will be required to submit CCTV footage to the following standard:
- survey video captured using a mainline tractor unit (not a pushrod camera system)
- coding of the pipes to meet WSA 05-2013 Conduit Inspection Reporting Code of Australia Version 3.1 standard using Wincan coding software
- a map outlining any existing and any new drainage found
Yarra City Council does not have information of the exact location and depth of drains and pits. However, a basic asset map can be obtained free of cost by applying online from BYDA | Before You Dig Australia | Get Free Plans
A stormwater asset map can be provided upon request to show indicative details. You can request for an asset map by emailing [email protected].
The report and consent are valid for 12 months from the date of issue. Approved plans are valid and further extended by 18 months from the date of issue.
You need to apply for a legal point of discharge if there are any design changes proposed to the stormwater catchment design within the title boundary.
This includes modifications of the roofline, gutters, downpipes, pits, pipes, detention tanks, rain gardens.