Ask RiotACT: Individual property pipe maps

hi
sewage and storm water plans would be available from
Phone 02 6207 6907
Customer Services | Access Canberra
Environment, Planning and Land
Building Services
8 Darling Street, Mitchell | GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601
They have an archive of existing hydraulic information from most properties in Canberra.
Water supply plans would normally only be available for commercial properties.
I HOPE THIS HELPS.

Are you in an older area?

If so i would be guessing that the taps in the back yard are part of the original Gal pipe system that has since been replaced with copper or pex.

You should definitely only have one water meter onto the property.

Sometimes they show the main water supply with your sewer and stormwater connections which you can find at http://www.planning.act.gov.au/tools_resources/legislation_plans_registers/registers/plumbing_tie_search

Rather than spending money on a cheap metal detector I would call a plumber. A good plumber will have an accurate pipe locator that can give you a depth reading and all. Alternatively you could try water dividing with two sticks of silver solder assuming that there is still water in the lines.

If the taps are connected to Gal pipes you could dig new trenches prior to the plumber turning up to save on labour. You could also book online to save 10% off the service call fee at http://www.watertightcanberra.com.au ? Yes, that’s my company and a personal plug.

Another thing. As the taps are in the backyard, they will most likely be connected to the rear house tap, which in turn will be connected to the laundry/bathroom piping (assuming the laundry and the bathroom are at the back of the house).

In that case, ACTEW (?Icon) plans may not be relevant.

Dial Before You Dig.

You should be able to source the relevant plumbing plans from Actew and (from memory of past experiences) this shouldn’t cost you anything.

Although, if the mains tap has been located and is working as expected then your issue may be unique to your property. If that’s the case I doubt Actew would know or care too much about your problem.

Has the house been renovated since its original construction? It could be as simple as the existing taps are no longer connected after a reno or other modification work.

From memory, your house plan should show the alignment for water and sewerage, but my guess is that the additional taps would have been installed after occupancy and so would therefore not show up on any plan.