Few things cause more panic — or more finger-pointing — than sewage backing up in your home. Before you pay anyone, it helps to know who is actually responsible, because in Johannesburg it depends entirely on where the blockage sits.
The dividing line: your boundary
As a general rule, you are responsible for the sewer line that runs across your property, up to the point where it connects to the municipal main — usually at or near your boundary wall. From that connection into the street and the main network, the blockage belongs to Joburg Water.
How to tell which side it is on
- Only your home affected? The blockage is almost certainly on your side — a blocked gully, a collapsed pipe or root ingress on your property.
- Several homes in the street affected at once? That points to the municipal main, and you should log a reference with Joburg Water.
- Sewage surfacing in the street or at a manhole? Municipal responsibility.
What to do in the first five minutes
Stop running water immediately — do not flush or run taps, because every litre makes the backup worse. Move valuables clear, and check with neighbours to work out which side of the boundary the problem is on. Then call a plumber for an on-property blockage, or log it with the municipality for a street issue.
How we clear an on-property sewer blockage
We clear main sewer lines with a high-torque mechanised drain machine and root-cutting heads, then push a CCTV camera through to confirm the cause. If it is recurring — root ingress, a collapsed section or a back-fall installed by a previous contractor — we quote the permanent repair rather than just clearing it again. See our main sewer line and blocked drains services.
The bottom line
Your side of the boundary is your responsibility; the street and main are the municipality's. If sewage is backing up inside your home right now, stop using water and call us — we cover Sandton, Midrand and the East Rand same-day.