Soakwells in Perth, Installed by Local Drainage Experts
Family-owned and operated, servicing the Perth metropolitan area from Yanchep to Mandurah for over ten years.
Oasis Soakwells
Perth’s Trusted Soakwell Specialists
Searching for soakwells in Perth usually means water is going somewhere it shouldn’t: pooling on your lawn, sitting near your foundations, or running off your property altogether. We’re Oasis Soakwells, a family business, and our team has installed, replaced and repaired soakwells across Perth for over ten years. Below, you’ll find what a soakwell actually does, how we size and install one for your property, what typically impacts what it costs, and how Western Australian councils regulate them. Whether you’re building a new house, adding a patio, or dealing with a soakwell that’s stopped draining, this is where to start.
Why Soakwells Matter in Perth
A soakwell (sometimes written as soak wells) is an underground chamber that collects rainwater from your roof, gutters, paving, driveways and other hard surfaces, and lets it soak back into the surrounding sand or soil, instead of pooling on your property or running onto the street.
Homeowners are legally obligated to contain stormwater on their own property. In Perth, this is almost always best done by a soakwell system. As a homeowner, you’ll likely be liable for stormwater damage caused to neighbouring properties if stormwater is not contained properly on your property.
Sandy Soil
Perth is primarily built on soft sand, meaning soil erosion can be a big factor in poor stormwater management systems. Sand being washed out around footings can cause cracking in walls and ceiling spaces in a building. Poor drainage can also lead to rising damp and moisture issues around the property, including mould growth and damage to floor areas. That job matters more here than in most of Australia.
High Rainfall
Perth’s sandy soils drain quickly, and our winters bring heavy rainfall in short, hard bursts. That combination, sandy ground with a high infiltration rate and periods of intense rain, is exactly what soakwells are built for. Western Australian law also requires stormwater runoff to stay on your property rather than draining onto neighbouring land or the street, so a properly sized soakwell isn’t optional. It’s how your property meets that requirement.
Preventing Damage
Beyond compliance, a soakwell protects the things you’ve spent money on: your foundations, retaining walls, paving and garden beds. Left unmanaged, stormwater runoff causes erosion, damage and flooding around a home, and a soakwell is what stops that happening. It also does something bigger for your suburb. By returning rainwater to the ground where it falls, soakwells help maintain the water table in urban areas, rather than sending that water straight out through the stormwater drain network.
Perth Soakwells Services We Offer
Most jobs come back to one thing: a soakwell that needs to be installed properly or replaced. We assess your whole drainage system and recommend the right fix, not just a patch.
01
Soakwell Installation
New soakwells for new homes, patios, granny flats and downpipes, installed to meet Western Australian standards.
02
Soakwell Repairs
Repairing collapsed soakwells, damaged pipes and drains, with a full replacement recommended where a repair won’t hold up long term.
03
Soakwell Lid and Grate Replacement
Often the first visible sign a soakwell needs attention. If the soakwell underneath has also failed, we’ll say so.
04
Channel Grate Installation
Supply and installation of channel grates as part of your property’s wider stormwater drainage system.
05
Residential Stormwater Drainage System Design
Custom drainage designs for new homes and renovations, with your soakwell system planned from scratch.
Why Choose Oasis Soakwells
We’ve been doing this for over ten years, the same way a family company should: every job still gets treated like it’s for our own place.
Ten Years, Family Owned and Operated
Locally owned, hands-on, and the trusted name for soakwells in WA, from Yanchep to Mandurah.
25-Year Guarantee
Every soakwell we install is backed by a 25-year guarantee on our workmanship and materials, so you’re covered long after the job is done.
Fully Council Compliant, and Beyond
We’ll tell you if your property needs more than the council minimum to hold up long term, and lay out the options. Making sure soakwells are installed with clearance from structural footings, pools and boundary lines.
Soakwells Perth Prices: What Affects Your Quote
Every property is different, so soakwell cost in Perth depends on a handful of site-specific factors rather than a flat rate.
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Roof and catchment area
The required volume your soakwells need to hold.
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Soil type and depth of dig
Sandy soils are generally faster and more straightforward to work with, whereas clay or limestone areas take longer, increasing the cost.
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Soakwell installation access
We may need to run additional plumbing to reach a spot where a soakwell can be installed, which can affect your price.
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Number and size of soakwells
Fewer, larger soakwells versus several smaller ones. Based on roof and catchment area.
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Concrete cutting
Cutting concrete to create space for a soakwell will typically also incur additional soakwell fees.
We’ll assess your property properly and give you a clear, itemised quote before we start. If we hit limestone or clay once we’re digging, a hard-ground surcharge applies, and we’ll always talk you through that before continuing.
Soakwell Sizes: How Many Soakwells Do You Need?
The right soakwell system starts with your roof area and catchment area, not a guess. The more roof, paving or driveway draining into one point, the more volume your soakwells need to hold.
The Council Formula
Most Perth councils publish the same starting point: roof area (m²) × 0.0125 = volume (m³), which works out to around 2.5m³ for a 200m² roof. It’s worth knowing this is a guide rather than a strict requirement, and it often comes out larger than a property actually needs. We assess your real soil type and catchment area and give you an honest recommendation on what’s actually required, rather than defaulting straight to the formula.
Choosing the Right Soakwell System
Polypropylene vs Concrete
We supply both polypropylene and concrete soakwells, and we’ll talk you through the trade-offs for your site rather than leave you guessing. Soil type is an important consideration either way, and it’s one of the first things we check on your property.
Polypropylene Soakwells
Our recommended option for most Perth properties. They’re manually dug, so there’s no risk to damaged service lines, and only a small area of your yard is disturbed during installation. Commercial-grade, lightweight and trafficable, they interlock permanently once installed, and with no machinery required, they typically cost less than concrete without compromising on strength.
Concrete Soakwells
Concrete soakwells need machinery to install, so site access becomes a bigger factor, and they typically cost more as a result. They also carry a higher risk to underground service lines and disturb a larger area of your property during the job. Still a solid choice depending on your site, and we’ll walk you through what’s involved before you decide.
Soakwell Installation in Western Australia
01
Regulations and Compliance
Soakwells in Perth must comply with local government regulations, Australian Standard AS3500.1/3, and Western Australian requirements that keep stormwater runoff on your own property. Each Perth council applies its own specific rules on top of these baseline standards, so we work directly with your local council to confirm exactly what’s required before we design your system.
Distance from structural footings generally comes down to dig depth: as a rule of thumb, a soakwell needs at least as much clearance from your footings as the hole is deep. Boundary setbacks are set separately by your council. Both protect your foundations and keep you clear of your neighbour’s property, so we confirm the exact distances for your site before we dig.
Direct Connections vs Grated Downpipes
We don’t recommend piping a downpipe with a direct connection straight into a soakwell. It’s a dated method, and if the system ever reaches capacity, stormwater can back up the downpipe and damage your eaves, gutters and roof space. Instead, we fit a grate beneath each downpipe, so water falls into it at ground level before being directed into your soakwell. If the system is ever overwhelmed, you get water pooling on the ground rather than backing up into your roof.
02
DIY Soakwells vs Professional Installation
You’ll find DIY soakwell videos online, and for a small job, that might look tempting. But the placement, depth and correct falls of the plumbing are what make a soakwell actually work, and getting any of that wrong creates a genuine hazard, not just a drainage problem.
A soakwell is a cavity sitting underground, and if it fails, sand fills the void and leaves an unsupported gap beneath your paving or concrete. That gap stays hidden until weight, from a person or a vehicle, finds it, and a collapsed soakwell can cause real injury.
We take an old-school approach on site, using shovels rather than excavators around underground service lines, and we pair that care with geotextile fabric, correct bedding and proper compaction on every job. Every new installation is backed by our 25-year guarantee, and if you’re unsure about a soakwell already on your property, we offer a free health check to make sure it’s still safe.
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Where We Install Soakwells Across Perth
We service the full Perth metropolitan area, from Yanchep in the north to Mandurah in the south, across the city’s residential, strata and commercial properties. Wherever your suburb sits along that stretch of Western Australia, our approach to your site doesn’t change: assess properly, quote once, and put your property back the way we found it.
Frequently Asked Questions
A stormwater soakwell is an underground, porous chamber that collects rainwater from your roof, paving or driveway and lets it drain back into the surrounding soil. It’s the standard way Perth properties manage stormwater, or storm water as it’s sometimes written, and stay within Western Australian regulations that require runoff to stay on-site.
In most cases, yes. Polypropylene soakwells are manually dug, so there’s no risk to damaged service lines and only a small area of your property is disturbed during installation. They’re commercial-grade, interlock permanently, and with no machinery required, they typically cost less than concrete. Concrete still has its place, it’s heavier and well proven, but needs machinery to install, which means more disruption to your site and a higher risk to underground service lines. We’ll confirm what’s right for your property, but polypropylene is our recommended option for most Perth homes.
Usually not. For most standard installations on an existing property, a soakwell doesn’t trigger a council approval process. Council typically only gets involved during a subdivision, where they’ll want to confirm the existing property has adequate drainage and that the new lot’s common areas are provided for too. Every council still sets its own rules on sizing, setbacks and materials, so we check what applies to your property and handle the compliance for you.
Yes. We treat reinstating your pavers, concrete, lawn and garden beds as part of the job, not an optional extra. You shouldn’t be left with a mess to fix yourself.
If you’re anywhere between Yanchep and Mandurah, most likely yes. Get in touch with your address and we’ll confirm.
The distance from structural footings generally comes down to how deep we’re digging: as a rule of thumb, we keep at least as much clearance from your footings as the depth of the hole, so a 1.2 metre deep soakwell needs roughly 1.2 metres of clearance. Boundary setbacks are a separate requirement set by your council, so we confirm the exact distances for your property before we dig.
Most Perth councils publish the same starting formula: roof area (m²) × 0.0125 = volume (m³), which works out to roughly 2.5m³ for a 200m² roof. That figure is a guide rather than a strict requirement, and it often comes out larger than a property actually needs. We assess your real soil type and catchment area, and give you an honest recommendation on what’s actually required versus what’s a conservative buffer, rather than defaulting straight to the formula.
Most residential soakwell installations are completed within a day. Soil type is the biggest factor: sandy ground digs quickly, while limestone or clay slows things down. The number of soakwells needed, site access and how much reinstatement work follows also play a part.
Standing water and slow drainage are usually caused by root growth or sediment settling on the floor of the soakwell. If yours has an accessible lid, often the case with driveway soakwells, regular clearing usually fixes it. If it’s collapsed, or there’s no way to access it for cleaning, we’ll recommend replacing it instead, we’d rather back your soakwell with our guarantee than a fix we can’t be sure will hold. We’ll inspect yours and give you an honest answer either way.