Blocked Drain Alexandra Hills
Work out whose pipe it is from where the water shows up, then call us to clear it and look for the cause.
Several fixtures slow, or water in the yard: which pipe is yours?
Which pipe is blocked decides who you ring, and a useful clue is where the water shows up: inside at the fixtures, out at a yard drain, or down at the kerb. Jim Monger Plumbing and Gas clears blocked drains with a jet rodder or electric eel and inspects lines with a CCTV camera, so the cause gets looked for as well as the blockage cleared. Alexandra Hills is in our service area for homeowners, landlords and property managers. Some of what follows applies only to parts of the suburb, such as Crown Road and the bushland edges, so read what sits closest to your block. If water is rising now, skip the reading and ring, because emergency calls are taken 24/7.
At the 2021 Census, 93.3% of dwellings here were separate houses, against 74.8% for Queensland. On most blocks, then, the first question is not the body corporate or a shared complex. It is whether the fault sits in your own line or in Council’s.
At the 2021 Census about nine in ten occupied Alexandra Hills homes had three or more bedrooms, against about three quarters across Queensland. The Census does not count bathrooms, but a home that size may have more than one to compare, so try each bathroom, the laundry and the kitchen before you ring. Council says one or a few slow sinks or toilets most likely means a fault in the home’s plumbing. If most of a house here is slow, try Council’s inspection opening check: liquid, slow draining or overflow when a tap runs inside may mean a blockage in Council’s main, while a dry opening means it is likely in your private plumbing.
Storm tide is not the worry here: Council’s suburb profile says its inland position keeps it out, and names flash and creek flooding as the main flood risks. So wet weather trouble on an Alexandra Hills block starts with rain on the land, which puts yard drains first. In January 2021 Council’s news service reported 118mm at Alexandra Hills in one hour. A yard drain or roofwater line already part blocked has little chance against that, so lift grates and clear pits before summer.
Water standing in an Alexandra Hills yard may not be a pipe fault, because Council names Hilliards, Tarradarrapin and Coolnwynpin creeks as passing through or near the suburb. Its catchment page puts parts of the suburb in Hilliards Creek’s catchment and its edges in Tarradarrapin Creek’s, with Coolnwynpin Creek flowing through towards Tingalpa Creek. If your block is close to one of those creeks, check the address on Council’s creek flood maps before treating standing water as a blocked pipe, though those maps leave out overland flow.
Crown Road shows where Council’s drainage stops and yours starts. Council news reported in October 2025 that contractors would upgrade roadside stormwater pits and replace damaged kerb and channel there, scheduled to finish in the first week of December 2025. The roofwater pipe from a Crown Road home to the kerb stays the owner’s under Council’s rules, even on Council land. So whether or not those works are finished, have your own line checked if a kerb outlet there is slow.
Council’s profile also describes bushland edges around the Greater Glider Conservation Area between Windemere and Vienna roads, beside Redland Bay Road, and around the reservoir near Hanover Drive. That mapping concerns bushfire, not drains, yet homes on those edges may collect more leaf and twig fall in gutters and roofwater lines. If yours backs onto one, clear gutters and downpipe pits ahead of heavy rain.
What each drain symptom points to
Toilet backing up on a larger block
Council says most properties here are on the reticulated sewer, while some larger properties rely on on-site wastewater systems that may be affected in extended power outages. On one of those blocks a backed-up toilet may be an on-site system issue and not a sewer main issue, so the first check is different. Tell us which system you have when you ring, because septic tanks and trenches are part of our work.
No overflow gully you can find
Council says properties connected before the 1970s may not have an overflow relief gully, and that a gully must not be covered by pot plants, tiling, paving or landscaping, so one may simply be hidden. That is a city-wide statement and not a finding about homes in this suburb. Council says the gully sends sewage outside the house during a blockage or an overloaded storm, so check under garden beds and paving and find out whether you have one before you need it. Council’s advice is to discuss a missing gully with a plumber, so ring us and we can run a camera through the line while we are looking at it.
Yard holding water after a big storm
Council says flood mapping shows impacts on established residential areas are generally limited, although some low-lying land and local drainage networks may be affected in significant rain. If your block is near a creek, check the address on Council’s creek flood maps first. Then clear your own grates. Water still sitting after that is worth having looked at, because Council’s picture of generally limited impacts on established residential areas still allows that some low-lying land and local drainage networks may be affected in significant rain. We do stormwater drainage work, including seepage trenches and pump-out lines. A yard that keeps holding water needs someone to look at it before any drainage work is decided.
Gurgling or slow drains during a storm
Council names severe thunderstorms as the most common local natural hazard, and says gurgling toilets or slow drains in heavy rain come from a temporarily overloaded network. Council says this resolves on its own as levels return to normal, so waiting can save you a callout. If it is still happening once the rain has gone, ring us and we can check the line with a camera.
Overflow gully running with no taps on
Council says an overflow relief gully overflowing with no water in use likely means a blockage in its sewer main. Council’s advice is to clear anything blocking the gully, check its grate moves freely, then contact Council on (07) 3829 8999, which can save you a plumber’s bill. If the fault turns out to be on your side of the line, we can clear it with a jet rodder or electric eel.
Inspection opening dry or full
Council describes a check using the inspection opening: if it holds liquid, drains slowly or overflows when a tap runs inside, there may be a blockage in Council’s main, and if it is dry the blockage is likely in your private plumbing. The opening is usually within 1 to 2 metres of a boundary and may be hidden by landscaping, and locating and uncovering it is the owner’s job, so find it before you need it. Tell us what the opening did when you ring, because Council says the result points to where the blockage may be.
Our blocked drain services in Alexandra Hills
Blocked drain clearing
Drains cleared with a jet rodder or electric eel. On a three or four bedroom home, list every slow fixture when you ring, not only the worst one.
CCTV drain camera inspections
A camera on a cable goes into the line, so the cause is looked for rather than guessed at.
Stormwater drainage
Stormwater drainage work, including seepage trenches and pump-out lines. Mention it when you ring if your block is on a bushland edge or your outlet is at the Crown Road kerb.
Septic systems
Septic system services, including tanks and trenches. For the larger blocks in the suburb that are not on the reticulated sewer.
Emergency calls
Emergency plumbing calls taken 24/7 including weekends, including for overflowing drains.
Maintenance for rental properties
Plumbing maintenance for homes, rental properties and commercial properties. Landlords and agents setting us up as a supplier can use ABN 72 684 573 242.
Licences, memberships and Google reviews
Our QBCC plumbing licence is 15504687. QBCC lists unblocking sanitary pipework as work that must be done by a licensed person, and any plumber’s licence can be checked on its online registers. We are a family-run plumber and gasfitter serving the Redlands, Logan and south-east Brisbane, with our base at Victoria Point. We are members of the Master Plumbers Association of Queensland. Council’s general advice is to make sure a plumber has jet rodding and a pipe inspection camera for the job, and both are part of our drain work. Our Google rating was 4.9 from 100 reviews as of 28 October 2026, across all our work. Google reviews are about the business in general and not about this suburb. One reviewer wrote that we "Fixed our blocked drain in no time". Another, after two outside drainage jobs, wrote that we "Always showed up on time on day they said they would be there". Those are individual experiences, not a promise about timing.
If several fixtures are draining slowly together, call before the summer storms rather than after them, and we can put a camera down the line to look for the fault. Have ready which fixtures are slow and what your inspection opening did when a tap ran. Quotes are free.
Frequently asked questions
Can’t see your question? Call us and we’ll talk it through.
Call 0418 871 269My townhouse is along Finucane Road. Should I ring a plumber first?
Attached housing and flats made up only 6.7% of dwellings here at the 2021 Census. Redlands2030, a community group, reported in 2020 that medium density zoning runs along parts of Finucane Road, though that does not tell you the zone of any one property. If you are in a complex there or anywhere else in the suburb, Council’s advice is to contact your body corporate about a sewer blockage first.
The Cleveland treatment plant is near Hanover Drive. Does living nearby tell me whose pipe is blocked?
No. Council names the Cleveland Wastewater Treatment Plant in its Alexandra Hills profile, near Hanover Drive and Nanette Court, despite what it is called, but being close to it does not tell you where a blockage is. Council’s inspection opening check is a better guide: liquid in the opening, or slow draining or overflow when a tap runs inside, may mean a blockage in Council’s main, and a dry opening means it is likely in your private plumbing. We can check a private line with a camera.
My block is not near a creek. Can stormwater still be a problem?
It can. Council says its creek flood maps do not include overland flow flooding, and that properties outside creek flood areas may still be vulnerable to it. We cannot tell you the flood status of an address, so check Council’s maps for that, and keep your own drains clear either way.
Roots from a Council tree are in my stormwater pipe. Can they be cut?
Council says you may be allowed to cut roots from a Council-controlled tree in stormwater pipes on your property, but you need to request permission first, and cutting too close to the trunk can destabilise the tree. It also says roots normally damage stormwater pipes where they were incorrectly installed or already damaged, so have the pipe itself looked at as well.
I rent my home. Who should I call about a blocked toilet?
The Residential Tenancies Authority lists a blocked or broken toilet as an emergency repair, and if the emergency contact cannot be reached in a reasonable time, the tenant or property manager can arrange repairs up to 4 weeks’ rent. Its list does not name drains or sewerage as separate items, so for another blocked drain, contact your manager first and check rta.qld.gov.au.
What should never go down the toilet?
Redland City Council’s rule is pee, poo and toilet paper only. Its wastewater page says wipes, nappies, sanitary items, cotton buds, razors and rags should never be flushed, and should be wrapped and binned.
Blocked drains in nearby areas
Not listed? We probably still cover your area, so give us a call.
Related services
More ways we can help around your home or business.
Guides
What to check yourself first, and when it needs a plumber. All guides
Several fixtures slow, or water in the yard? Call 0418 871 269.
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