Putting first things first, you could limit or damage access to the city’s water, stormwater, or wastewater assets while landscaping, building, or excavating your property. To protect these assets, you need to get Sydney Water Building Plan Approvals before starting any work.
About the approvals
So, the Sydney Water Building Plan Approvals ensure that that your work/project doesn’t confine or affect the city’s assets.
If you give your consent authority to lodge a crucial development application about your building work, their consent will have a condition that the authorities first approved your building plans before you received the construction certificate.
If you don’t get this important approval before working on any of the pipes, the authorities may levy penalties on you for illegal, unauthorised work. They may also recover the costs they incur in the process. It could be third-party claims or pipe restorations.
About the process
You get the approval by using the crucial water building plan approvals process. For starting the process, you need to lodge your building plans/blueprint at Sydney Water Tap.
- Right after your application, they ask a few brief questions.
- They use the information for telling you if your project might limit, affect, or impact their assets by any means. You have two possible outcomes in this regard.
- They will approve your plan sans any further evaluation.
- They can refer you to a designated Water Servicing Coordinator or water accredited constructor for more assessment.
In the majority of cases, the water constructor assesses and approves your proposal. Depending on the situation, they may also need to refer your building application to the companies for a thorough review. It’s called an out-of-scope assessment.
At the twilight of the process, you can present your approved plans to your certifier or consent authority.
About the coordinator
A water servicing coordinator or a water accredited constructor is Sydney Water’s listed provider. They can help you in many ways.
- The coordinator evaluates your building plans and discusses requirements or/and options with you.
- They advise what documents you require for the water building plan approvals. They also specify requisites for asset protection along with alternate options.
- They can arrange resources to supervise piercing works and concrete encasement.
The coordinator acts on your behalf in every dealing with the authorities. You need to pay the constructor or any other service provider you engage with.
The constructor can generally review and approve your building plans sans any requirements. There’s no need for referrals at times. If your plans necessitate a more intensive review, they can always send the application to the higher authorities.
It’s in your best interests to contact numerous coordinators for ensuring that you find the most appropriate person for you.
Time to approve the plans
In case there’s zero impact on the assets, which is common in most cases, they will straight away give Sydney Water Building Plan Approvals. They give you an approval letter. They also charge a fee.
If they need to refer your application to a water constructor, the person tells you the right time to give you a response.