/ Planning & Building / Sewer Services / Sewer Manholes

Sewer Manholes

Sewer manholes are access points to Council’s sewer mains and are used to check the condition of sewers, clear blockages in sewer lines and provide access to investigate and rectify infiltration.

Sewer manholes can be located in roads, footpaths, driveways, public spaces and inside private properties but are generally found where the sewer changes direction or where two or more sewer mains join together. To find an approximate location of a sewer manhole,

follow this link and register with the DBYD website. 

Other than Council employees or persons contracted to Council, no person is allowed to conduct work on Council owned sewerage infrastructure (including sewer manholes) unless that person has gained approval under Section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993 to complete the work.

Your Responsibility

Residents are responsible for ensuring that access to manholes on their property is available, they should be visible and accessible. 

If you have a manhole on your property, please don't bury it or put any large object over it.

Our Responsibility

Council conducts routine manhole inspections to ensure manholes are accessible and visible, not leaking or having stormwater directed into them, not containing tree roots or blockages. 

If a manhole within your property is not accessible, Council may direct you to make it accessible or do work on your behalf. In some instances, excavation may be required. For example, if a garden bed has been built over the manhole, Council may direct the property owner to remove it to restore access.

Property owners, builders, developers and consultants must consider services that exist on the land, including the position of manholes and sewerage infrastructure and make sure they remain accessible at all times and are not damaged during construction.

Sewer manhole adjustments

Sewer Manhole Adjustment


Sewer manholes can sometimes require adjusting and may need to be raised or lowered due to works going on within a property. Shoalhaven Water will undertake adjustment work free of charge. 

To request a manhole adjustment, submit our online Sewer Manhole Adjustment Request.