Building over or next to assets
Our water, wastewater and stormwater assets deliver precious services to you and your neighbours.
When you're building or excavating over or next to our assets, you must get our approval. This includes when you're:
- constructing a building or driveway
- extending the transport network
- installing utility services by excavating or non-intrusive means, eg boring
- laying pipes and cables to service the community.
When do you need our approval?
You need our approval before you can move, replace or remove our pipes. This includes replacing them with temporary pipework.
Find out more about land development.
Talk to a Water Servicing Coordinator about getting this approval.
If you don't get this approval before you do any work on our pipes, we may:
- fine you for unauthorised work
- recover any costs we incur from restoring our pipes or third party claims.
What work are you planning?
We'll check there'll be no impact on our assets. You can do this at Sydney Water Tap inTM.
Learn more about building plan approvals.
If you're an authority, utility or local council planning to install services, you might affect our assets.
Before you start detailed planning for your project, you must email our Asset Services team. They'll tell you about any requirements, including if you need to protect or adjust our assets.
If an asset needs protecting or adjusting, you must engage a Water Servicing Coordinator to manage any works.
Read our Asset adjustment and protection manual to learn more about the process to follow.
NSW Streets Opening Coordination Council (SOCC)
We're a member of the NSW Streets Opening Coordination Council (SOCC).
We follow its recommendations on asset location and specifications for road restorations.