Balcatta facts that matter to a plumber
Townhouse country
At the 2021 Census, 46.5% of the suburb's occupied homes were townhouses, terraces or semis, against 13.0% across WA. 53.0% were separate houses and 31.3% were rented.
From market gardens to homes
The City of Stirling says Balcatta was mostly market gardens until the 1960s and 1970s, when industry arrived and workers began to build homes. The industrial area covers the north of the suburb.
Rain stays on the lot
Stirling requires all the rain that falls on a lot to stay there, in soakwells or approved alternatives such as holding tanks or infiltration basins.
Council drains are off limits, mostly
A private connection into Stirling's stormwater system is allowed only where a high groundwater table will stop infiltration working, and only if the system has spare capacity.
Building or subdividing in Balcatta
For a development or a smaller subdivision, Stirling's 2024 criteria set a minimum design storm equal to 15mm of rain over the whole site. Storage is sized as hard surface area in square metres times 0.015m.
Some sites need a full drainage management plan. Triggers include the highest recorded groundwater sitting within 1.2m of the surface, or more than 90% of the site being roofs and paving.
A plumber who specialises in stormwater can size the soakwells and map the downpipes before the plans go in.
Shared pipes and the sewer
With so many townhouses, check whose pipe it is before work starts. The Building Commission holds 'flimsies', drawings of a property's internal sewers and fixtures, and Before You Dig Australia plans show the sewer main and junction.
Clearing a blockage in your own property connection, up to the junction on Water Corporation's main, is an owner's cost. If the plumber finds the blockage in the main instead, Water Corporation pays them a standard fee for locating it.
When the job is major work, such as a new hot water system, a WA contractor owes you a certificate of compliance within five working days of finishing. Related pages: blocked drains in Perth, pipe relining and, for the industrial area, commercial plumbing.
What we would do
In a townhouse, get the flimsy for your property before a blocked drain is dug up, so the plumber knows which line serves which home. If you're adding paving or a bigger roof, size the soakwells first. Stirling rarely lets a private pipe into its drains, so that extra rain has to soak away on your own lot.