Does your property have a stormwater easement on it – or perhaps you are looking at buying a home which is affected by one?

If so, you may be wondering how that will impact your enjoyment of the property, and what changes you can make. Will it be possible to fill it, or put a kids’ cubby house, shed, pool, or other structure on that area of land?

Unfortunately, easements can be quite restrictive.

What is a Stormwater Easement?

An easement is a section of land dedicated for a specific purpose such as a shared driveway or power lines. A stormwater easement for example, exists to allow for the orderly flow of water.

There are two types of stormwater easement – a council easement, or a private one.

Regardless, it’s important to check with your local council if you want to make any changes to an easement; and if it’s a private easement, you will need to get consent from the other land owners benefitting from it.

Filling a Backyard

These clients, based in the Redlands, bought a home on a fairly small suburban lot. It was just one in a row of homes served by a private stormwater easement, so each backyard was terraced with the easement at the lowest level.

When two upstream neighbours filled their stormwater easements, these clients saw just how much of a difference a level backyard could make.

Once they had all the relevant permissions and approvals in place, it was time to bring in the fill. As there was no side access, the only solution was to remove part of the fence, and bring soil in with a bobcat via the rear neighbour’s property.

By the end of the day, not only were the home owners extremely pleased with their new and usable backyard – their rear neighbour was also impressed with how we were able to tidy up and leave their property looking even better than before!

If you are interested in filling a stormwater easement, talk to Council first – and then call us, at All Hours Earthmoving on 0418 886 855, when it’s time to get the job done.