Secret Harbour at a glance
Nearly all houses
At the 2021 Census, 98.7% of the suburb's occupied homes were separate houses, and 87.5% had four or more bedrooms.
Mostly mortgaged
61.0% were owned with a mortgage and 19.5% rented.
Street trees picked around services
When the City of Rockingham plants a street tree, an officer chooses the species for the spot, weighing soil type, verge width and the infrastructure above and below ground.
Stormwater stays on site
The City requires stormwater to stay within the lot, with spoon drains or soakwells at the minimum, each set back from buildings and boundaries by at least its depth.
Garden water: bores, reticulation and winter
Water Corporation says 1 in 4 Perth household gardens use groundwater from bores. The Sprinkler Switch-off runs from 1 June to 31 August every year for scheme and bore water users alike; irrigation from rainwater tanks is exempt.
Leaking reticulation is a job for a Waterwise Garden Irrigator, not a regular plumber, Water Corporation says, while hidden leaks in the house pipes need a plumber who specialises in finding them. If a bore pump is ever cross connected to the house water pipes, bore water can be pushed back into the supply.
Roots and neighbours
The City of Rockingham lists damage to infrastructure from encroaching roots among the problems trees can cause. A neighbour's tree on private land is a civil matter between owners, so the City generally won't step in. If roots reach your pipes, a drain specialist can clear and repair them; see tree roots in drains.
Your side of the pipes
At a detached home, a leak between the plumber's elbow and the house is yours to fix, and one towards the street is Water Corporation's. On the sewer, the owner's part runs to the junction with Water Corporation's main; our guide to who owns the sewer pipe explains it.
Perth pages: leak detection, hot water, blocked drains and emergency plumbing. Nearby: Port Kennedy.
What we would do
Run Water Corporation's meter test once a season: turn off every tap and water-using appliance, note the 3 red numbers, wait 15 minutes and look again. If they've moved, there's a leak somewhere. Check the reticulation first, then call a leak specialist for the house pipes. We will match you with one, and nobody but the plumber who accepts the job gets your contact details.