Drainage and plumbing, Kitsilano
Drainage and Plumbing in Kitsilano
In Kitsilano your address decides which problem you have. Down by the water you are on pipe the City has mostly separated already. Up the hill toward West 16th, better than a third of the street mains still carry sewage and rain in the same pipe.
We camera the line before we quote a number, and you keep the footage.
The pipe under your Kitsilano street
The City publishes every sewer main it owns. Inside the official Kitsilano boundary there are 2,325 street main segments. 502 of them are still combined, which means one pipe carrying sewage and rainwater together. That is 21.6% of the neighbourhood against 24.3% for Vancouver as a whole.
The interesting part is how unevenly it sits. North of West 4th only 9.7% of the mains are combined. From West 4th up to Broadway it is 23.2%. From Broadway up to West 16th it is 37.3%. The waterfront blocks are largely done. The hill is not.
Half of what is left is the old material. Of those 502 combined segments, 253 are vitrified clay. Clay is the pipe that cracks at the joint and lets roots in, and the City names damage, age and tree roots as the reason extra groundwater and rain get into a sewer in the first place.
This matters to you and not just to the City. BC’s goal is to end sewage overflows by 2050, and as the City replaces a combined main, the properties on that street have to run separated systems too. Roof and foundation drains wrongly connected to the sanitary line are one of the things that has to come off. You are responsible for the sewer lines on your property up to where they meet the City’s connection.
Old houses, newer condos, two different call-outs
Kitsilano is old stock. Off the 2026 tax roll, 4,510 detached parcels carry a build year, and 61.9% of them went up before 1940. 72.4% went up before 1960. The 1910s alone are 29.3% of the houses here, which is close to a third of the neighbourhood built in one decade.
It is also the most protected neighbourhood in the city. Kitsilano holds 487 entries on the Vancouver Heritage Register, ahead of Downtown at 409 and Strathcona at 261, and they cluster on West 5th, West 3rd and West 6th. That is the reason we push trenchless on these lots wherever the site allows it. On a house like that, the porch, the boulevard and the front garden are not acceptable collateral.
The condos are a different call. 10,559 Kitsilano strata units carry a build year and 65.2% of them were built between 1970 and 1999, with the 1990s as the peak decade. Poly-B was going into Canadian homes from about 1978 to the mid 1990s. It is usually grey, and it is stamped PB2110 or CSA-B 137.8. Those two windows overlap across roughly half the condo stock in Kitsilano. Go and look at the pipe before you assume yours is fine.
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Drainage problem in Kitsilano?
Ryan picks up. Live dispatch, and you get a real arrival window on the call. We camera the line before anybody quotes a number.
What Vancouver customers say
Ryan was great! My landlord called him to fix my blocked kitchen sink. He showed up the same day (on a Sunday) and fixed the problem. He even cleaned the sink and dried up all the water that had leaked before he got there. And he was very careful coming in and out of the house so my cat wouldn’t get out. I’d definitely recommend him.
Ryan is INCREDIBLE. He has been responding to all of us (four houses and families!) affected by a sewage back up. This is all on Boxing Day and beyond, in terrible weather full of ice, cold and rain. He is so knowledgeable, and knew what was needed right away. Just the top of his field I am sure. As well as that, he is incredibly calm, respectful, kind and fair. I am truly amazed by this person's capacity and competence in combination with his noble, calm presence in the face of a real mess. Thank you Ryan, so very much!
I had very positive experience with Mamba Services, Ryan was amazing to work with and took care of my drain issues in no time. He arrived on time, was very professional and efficient in carrying out the work. What impressed me was how honest he was in recommending needed repair. He was very patient in explaining the different options. I will certainly call them for future projects.
Had an excellent experience. Ryan was fantastic, it was an after hours call late in the evening and he showed up exactly in the time frame he gave. Took care of the kitchen sink issue within minutes all systems were running like new. Pricing was extremely reasonable, Ryan was patient and explained everything to me while fixing my problem. I would highly recommend this company for any plumbing work.
Ryan was efficient, experienced, and knowledgeable. He was able to squeeze me into his schedule with short notice and wasted no time with my appointment. He arrived on site inspected the issue, and was quickly at work with resolving the problem. I am very pleased with his service and honesty. He provided recommendations that will help assist me in future occurrences.
Six things worth knowing about Kitsilano drainage
- Water here always wants to go north. Kitsilano climbs from sea level at the beach past the 50 metre contour at West 16th, in about eighteen blocks. If your lot sits below your neighbours, you are catching what they shed, and that belongs in the plan before anyone picks a pump.
- Know which half of the neighbourhood you are in. North of West 4th the street mains are 9.7% combined. Broadway up to West 16th is 37.3%. The fix that is right at Point Grey Road is often the wrong fix eight blocks uphill.
- Norway maple is the neighbourhood tree, and it is a big one. There are 883 of them on Kitsilano boulevards averaging 59.9 cm through the trunk. West 14th carries 155 common horsechestnuts averaging 77 cm, West 6th carries 120 Norway maples. The City names tree roots as a cause of cracked pipe, so on those two avenues a camera is not optional.
- Take the footage. The City’s own advice is to make sure your contractor gives you photos or a recording as a record of the inspection. Get it in your hands before you agree to any work, and keep it for the next owner.
- Check where your roof water goes. Roof and foundation drains improperly connected to the sanitary line are one of the named sources of extra flow into the sewer. When the City separates your street, that connection has to come off anyway.
- The Macdonald and Bayswater band runs wetter. First Creek, also called Tatlow Creek, ran north from what is now West 20th through Tatlow and Volunteer parks into English Bay before it was buried, and the Park Board daylit the last stretch in 2024 with raingardens and a constructed wetland. The band it runs through measures 32.7% combined main against 21.6% for Kitsilano as a whole. Two separate measurements, worth knowing if you own in there.
Kitsilano drainage and plumbing FAQ
Depends where you are. Across Kitsilano 502 of 2,325 street main segments are still combined, about 21.6%. North of West 4th that drops to 9.7%. From Broadway up to West 16th it climbs to 37.3%. We can tell you what is under your block before we come out.
BC’s goal is to end sewage overflows by 2050. As the City replaces a combined main with a separated system, the properties on that street need separated systems too. In practice that usually means getting roof and foundation drains off the sanitary line and onto storm.
You are responsible for the lines on your property, up to where they meet the City’s connection. A licensed plumber can clean and inspect the whole connection from the house out to the main. Only the City or its agents can excavate or repair the City’s portion inside the road right of way.
Yes, and it is a good reason to look at trenchless first. Kitsilano carries 487 Heritage Register entries, the most of any local area in Vancouver, clustered on West 5th, West 3rd and West 6th. Relining or bursting means the front garden, the walk and the porch usually stay where they are.
Because it is still down there. Of the 502 combined street mains left in Kitsilano, 253 are vitrified clay. Clay cracks at the joint, roots find the crack, and the City itself names damage, age and tree roots as how groundwater and rain get into a sewer. Private laterals from the same era are the same material.
Worth checking. 65.2% of Kitsilano strata units were built between 1970 and 1999 with the 1990s as the peak decade, and Poly-B went into Canadian homes from about 1978 to the mid 1990s. It is usually grey and it is stamped PB2110 or CSA-B 137.8. Go and read the pipe in your mechanical room rather than guessing from the build year.
It does. Kitsilano runs from sea level at the beach past the 50 metre contour at West 16th over about eighteen blocks, so the water on your lot includes what the lots above you shed. That changes the pump you need and where the discharge has to go, not just the pipe.
Always. The City’s own guidance is to make sure the contractor gives you photos or a recording as a record of the inspection. You watch the monitor with us and the file is yours to keep.
Yes. First Creek, also called Tatlow Creek, ran north from what is now West 20th through those two parks into English Bay before it was buried, and the Park Board daylit the last stretch in 2024. The Macdonald and Bayswater band measures 32.7% combined main against 21.6% for Kitsilano overall, so we go in expecting older pipe.
All of Vancouver, plus Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore. Point Grey, Dunbar, Fairview and Mount Pleasant are the closest to this one and we are in them constantly.
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Water where it should not be?
Ryan picks up. Live dispatch, and you get a real arrival window on the call.