Why trees choose sewer over stormwater pipes

Trees are more likely to grow into sewer pipes than stormwater pipes.

Every day we use our plumbing sending that water and fertiliser combination along the pipeline for the trees and their root systems to drink their fill. BUT, stormwater pipes only carry water when it rains, which in this country is fairly unreliable.

If I was a tree and had a choice of putting my roots into a sewer pipe or a stormwater pipe, I would choose the sewer pipes because every day, as regular as clockwork, I will be fed and watered. If I chose the stormwater pipes, I may die of thirst!

Tree roots grow through pipe joints.

Tree roots usually enter your pipe line through the pipe joints.

Did you know each clay sewer pipe is usually 2-3 foot long? That’s 600-900mm each.

So, in a pipe line 100 feet in length (30 metres), there could be up to 50 individual pipes with bends and junctions.

That means there are at least 50 different places for tree roots to get into your sewer pipes.

That’s a lot of opportunity for tree roots searching for moisture in our hot Australian climate where rainfall is unpredictable.

If you’re considering pipe relining, root cutting or a pipe renewal as options for keeping the roots at bay, remember, the tree roots can just move down to the next pipe joint that hasn’t been protected.

Tree roots in drains start out small

Do you know how small tree roots are when they enter your sewer drains?

Believe it or not, the tree roots that enter your drains through the small cracks in the pipe joints are finer than the hairs on your head or the purest Australian wool.

Once they find their way into the cracks and pipe joints they multiply.