Spearwood facts
City of Cockburn
Spearwood is one of the City's 24 suburbs, and the City's administration sits on Coleville Crescent in Spearwood.
Mostly houses
At the 2021 Census, 73.5% of the suburb's occupied homes were separate houses, 20.9% townhouses, terraces or semis and 5.4% flats or apartments. 47.7% had three bedrooms.
Owners and renters
35.1% of homes were owned outright and 28.8% rented.
Roots can justify removal
The City will consider removing a verge tree where its roots damage public or private assets and a root barrier isn't a workable fix.
When verge roots reach your drains
Pruning a street tree on your verge is prohibited under the Local Government Act 1995; in Cockburn the City does it. Non-urgent tree requests can take up to five months, so report a problem tree early.
Meanwhile the pipe still needs fixing. Roots find their way in through cracks, Water Corporation says, and often whole lengths of pipe have to be replaced. A drain specialist can clear and check the pipe on your side; ask whether a root barrier is possible, because the City asks the same question. See tree roots in drains and pipe relining in Perth.
Roadside drain or yours?
Blocked drains at the roadside are the City's to deal with: report them to the City of Cockburn. Its Drainage Catchment Study looked at flooding requests received since 2009 and at why drainage assets fail.
Inside the boundary, a blocked sewer connection is the owner's to clear, up to the junction with Water Corporation's main. If the plumber finds the blockage in the main, Water Corporation clears it and pays the plumber a standard fee for locating it.
Old septic systems in Cockburn
If a property in the City still runs on septic, it must connect within five years of sewer becoming available, or within one year of settlement if sold. New owners must decommission the old tank within 60 days, and it must be done before any building within 1.2 metres of the tank or over it. Our septic systems page explains the process.
Other Perth jobs: blocked drains, leak detection, hot water and an emergency plumber.
What we would do
If the same drain keeps blocking near a verge tree, ask the plumber to camera it and keep the footage. Send it with your tree request, since the City weighs root damage and root barriers before agreeing to remove a tree. For the pipe itself, we will match you with a drain specialist, and your details go only to the plumber who says yes to the job.