How does an Overflow Relief Gully work?

A correctly installed and maintained ORG will always act as an emergency release point whenever a sewage blockage occurs.

Legally it is required to be 150mm lower than the lowest drain connection inside your house. Because it is the lowest open sewer drain connection on your property, any overflowing sewage will automatically flow out of it onto your garden or lawn.

If your sewer house drain blocks and sewage flows cannot flow into the council sewers, the sewage flow will back up in your drains. This backup will make the loose-fitting black grate pop off completely. Once the grate pops, the sewage will flow freely onto your garden and lawn area rather than inside your home.

Cleaning up a sewage overflow outside your home is much more comfortable and far less stressful than cleaning up sewage overflowing into your home and damaging floors and furniture.

Maintaining Your Overflow Relief Gully

You are responsible as a property owner for maintaining your entire sewer house drain in excellent operating condition. The ORG is a critical part of the sewer drain infrastructure and must be properly installed and maintained.

An illegal or non-compliant ORG has the potential to null and void insurance claim damages in the event of a sewage overflow.

You must make sure that your overflow relief gully is not:

• covered in any way with pot plants or containers that prevent it from working in an emergency

• covered over when landscaping with paths or gardens

• the grate is unable to pop off due to corrosion or filled with silt, debris, stones or concrete

• is installed so low  that rainwater can overflow into the sewer drains

• is connected to roof storm-water down-pipes

You must always make sure that your overflow relief gully has the following:

• A loosely fitted metal or plastic grill that will easily pop off completely to allow sewage to overflow in an emergency

• a clear drainage area so that any overflowing sewage flows away from your house and does not build up around the overflow relief gully

• is correctly installed 100mm above a grass or garden area or 50mm in a concrete path or paved path

If your ORG or overflow relief does not meet the above criteria, it may need to be excavated and reinstalled. We can rectify this in numerous instants by installing an ORC Overflow Relief Cap.