Oasis Soakwells
Soakwell Repair Perth
Blocked, Slow and Collapsed Soakwells
When a soakwell stops working, the stormwater from your roof, paving and driveway has nowhere to go. It pools on the lawn, sits against your footings, and over a few wet winters it can sink the paving above and put your property at risk of water damage. We provide soakwell repair Perth-wide, working out why your soakwell has failed and fixing the cause rather than patching the symptom.
We’re Oasis Soakwells, a locally owned family business looking after Perth properties since 2016, from Yanchep down to Mandurah. We’ll tell you plainly whether your soakwell can be cleared out, repaired or needs replacing, and every replacement is backed by our 25-year guarantee on workmanship and materials.
Below you’ll find the signs your soakwell needs attention, what usually stops a soakwell draining, the soakwell repairs we carry out, when a replacement is the better answer, and what affects the cost. If you’ve noticed water pooling after rain, this is the place to start.
Signs Your Soakwell Needs Attention
Most soakwell problems stay hidden through summer and show up with the first heavy winter rain. These are the signs we’re most often called out for.
Water pooling after rain
Water sitting on your lawn, garden beds or paved areas long after the rain has stopped usually means the soakwell is full, blocked or too small for the water flowing into it.
Slow drainage
A soakwell that takes much longer to empty than it used to is often losing capacity to sediment built up on its floor.
Overflowing gutters or grates
If your gutters overflow in heavy rain even when they’re clear, or water bubbles back out of the grate under your downpipe, the soakwell can’t take any more.
Sinking paving or dips in the lawn
Ground that sinks around a soakwell can mean sand is washing into it, or the soakwell itself has started to collapse. Take this one seriously: a void can form under paving or concrete and give way under the weight of a person or a car.
A cracked lid or rusted grate
On a driveway soakwell, this is often the first visible sign of trouble. Our soakwell lid and grate replacement service may be the fix, and we’ll check the soakwell underneath at the same time.
An unpleasant smell
A musty or stale smell around a grate usually points to debris and organic matter trapped inside.
Soakwell Not Draining? What Usually Causes It
A soakwell holds stormwater for a short time and lets it soak away into the surrounding soil or sand. When a soakwell is not draining, something is stopping one of those two things from happening.
Sediment and debris
Leaves, roof grit and silt wash down your downpipes with every storm and settle on the floor of the soakwell. Over time that layer restricts the drainage rate, and the soakwell fills faster than it can empty.
Tree roots
Roots go looking for water, and a soakwell is a reliable source. Root growth around the soakwell can block the openings water needs to escape through.
Sand washing in
Older soakwells were often installed without geotextile fabric, so the surrounding sand gradually washes in and fills them. We wrap every new unit in geotextile fabric to stop this happening.
Not enough capacity
Older or builder-installed soakwells may not have been sized for the roof area now feeding them, and a new patio, granny flat or extension adds roof area without adding capacity. The soakwell can be working perfectly well and still be too small.
Structural failure
Concrete soakwells can crack or break down over time, especially under the weight of vehicles. A soakwell installed without enough cover or compaction above it can also sink or collapse.
Damaged pipes
A blockage, or a cracked, crushed or disconnected stormwater pipe between the downpipe and the soakwell, means water never reaches it, or leaks out where it shouldn’t.
Soil type
Perth’s sandy coastal soils drain well, but clay and limestone don’t absorb water as quickly. A soakwell in heavy ground needs more capacity to do the same job.
Soakwell Repairs We Carry Out
Once we determine the cause, we’ll recommend the solution that will hold up long term, not the quickest patch.
Collapsed soakwell repairs
We repair large concrete soakwells where the structure can be made sound again. For a failed polypropylene soakwell, replacement is the better fix.
Stormwater pipe repairs
We replace cracked, crushed or disconnected pipes between your downpipes and soakwells, and set the correct falls so water keeps flowing where it should.
Lids and grates
Cracked lids and rusted grates are replaced with a new lid, grate and support system concreted in together. See soakwell lid and grate replacements.
Adding capacity
Where the existing soakwell is sound but too small, we can add one or more soakwells to take the extra load, either alongside it or in a better location on your property. Multiple soakwells are often the answer after a patio or extension goes in. See soakwell installation for how we size and install them.
Swapping direct connections for grates
A downpipe piped straight into a soakwell can back water up into your gutters and roof space when the system is full. We’ll generally recommend replacing it with an anti-splash offset grate beneath the downpipe, so any overflow happens at ground level instead. Water on the lawn is a far smaller problem than water in the roof.
Channel grates on sloping sites
Where water runs down a sloping driveway towards your garage, a channel grate installation can stop it in its tracks and redirect it into the soakwell.
Strata and commercial properties
We repair soakwells for property managers, strata companies and commercial properties, working around your tenants, customers and operating hours, and keeping the site tidy while the work is underway.
How We Repair Soakwells
01
Tell us what’s happening
Get in touch with us and describe what you’re seeing: where the water pools, how old the soakwell is, and anything that’s changed on the property, like a new patio. We’ll talk you through the likely causes and give you a figure to work from.
02
We find the cause
If it isn’t clear what’s going wrong, our free soakwell health check looks at the whole soakwell system: the soakwell itself, the lid, grate, pipes and surrounding ground. It’s the best way to catch potential problems before they become a safety hazard or a full replacement.
03
You’ll know the costs before we start
Soakwell work deals with what’s hidden underground, from service lines to old soakwells and buried concrete. We’ll tell you upfront what could be down there and what each scenario would cost. If we hit limestone or clay once digging starts, we’ll talk you through the hard-ground surcharge before going ahead.
04
We dig by hand
Wherever we can, we use shovels rather than heavy machinery. That means no risk of damage to underground service lines, access to tight spaces a machine can’t reach, and less disruption to your property.
05
We take on the jobs others avoid
Cutting through concrete, digging in clay and working through narrow side access are all part of the job for us.
06
We get the depth and compaction right
When a soakwell is replaced, it goes back in at the right depth for what sits above it. Water compaction and plate compaction before paving or concrete goes back over the top protect the ground from sinking in the winters that follow.
Not sure what’s wrong with your soakwell? Book a free soakwell health check and we’ll tell you plainly what it needs.
Repair or Replace? When a New Soakwell Installation Makes Sense
Not every soakwell is worth repairing, and we’d rather tell you that upfront than sell you a fix that won’t last. A replacement is usually the better answer when:
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the soakwell has collapsed and can’t be made sound, or it’s a polypropylene unit that has failed
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there’s no access to clear it out, which is the case for most soakwells under lawn, garden beds and paving
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it’s an older soakwell without geotextile fabric that keeps filling with sand
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it’s too small for the roof area and paving now draining into it
A new soakwell installation is sized for your catchment area and soil type, wrapped in geotextile fabric, installed at the right depth and backed by our 25-year guarantee on workmanship and materials. We supply and install both polypropylene soakwells and concrete soakwells, and we’ll talk you through which suits your site.
Soakwell Cleaning Perth: When a Clean-Out Is the Right Fix
Soakwell cleaning works where there’s access to get inside the soakwell, which usually means a driveway soakwell with an accessible lid. Clearing out the built-up sediment, leaves and debris can restore efficient drainage and help prevent flooding in the next big storm.
Most soakwells don’t have that kind of access. They sit under lawn, garden beds or paving with nothing to lift. Where there’s no access to clean a soakwell out, we’ll generally recommend a replacement over a possible fix, backed by our 25-year guarantee. If you’re not sure which applies to yours, a free soakwell health check will tell you.
Routine Soakwell Maintenance
Regular maintenance of your gutters, downpipes and grates reduces how much debris reaches your soakwell in the first place, and helps protect it for the future.
Keep gutters and downpipes clear
Regular cleaning of your gutters, along with leaf guards, stops leaves being washed down into the soakwell. It’s the simplest routine maintenance you can do.
Keep grates clear
Leaves, lawn clippings and mulch sitting on a grate slow the water getting in.
Watch what you wash away
When you hose down paving or the driveway, avoid washing sand, soil and mulch into the grates.
Plan around tree roots
Leave plenty of room between new trees and your soakwells.
Soakwell Repair Costs: What Affects Your Quote
Every repair is different, so costs vary based on your property rather than a flat rate. Soakwell repair costs in Perth come down to a few factors.
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The cause of the problem
Clearing out an accessible soakwell, replacing a damaged pipe and replacing a collapsed soakwell are very different jobs.
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How many soakwells are involved
If a replacement is needed, the capacity your roof and paving call for sets how many soakwells go in and what size.
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Length of plumbing
Reaching an accessible install point from your downpipe is often the real cost driver. Longer runs add cost.
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Soil type
Sandy ground is faster to dig. Limestone and clay take longer, and a hard-ground surcharge applies if we hit them once digging starts.
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Concrete cutting
Where concrete needs cutting to reach the soakwell, that’s an additional cost, and concrete isn’t able to be reinstated by us.
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Additional services
Soil removal and reinstating your pavers or grass are charged separately, so you can add them or handle them yourself.
Catching a failing soakwell early is usually far more cost-effective than fixing the water damage it leaves behind. You’ll have a figure to work from before we start, with any possible extra costs outlined upfront.
Get a Free Quote on Soakwell Repairs
Whether it’s water pooling on the lawn, a sinking driveway or a soakwell that’s stopped draining altogether, our team can tell you what’s going on and what it will take to fix it. Contact us online for a free quote or a free soakwell health check.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the size of the soakwell and the soil around it. Every cubic metre of soakwell volume stores 1,000 litres, and while it fills, water is also soaking out into the surrounding soil. In free-draining Perth sand a soakwell handles more over a storm than its volume alone, while in clay or limestone it handles less. Most Perth councils use roof area (m²) × 0.0125 to set the recommended volume, so a 200m² roof calls for roughly 2.5m³, or around 2,500 litres. We treat that volume calculation as a starting point and adjust it for your soil type and catchment area.
A soakwell collects stormwater from your roof, driveway and paved areas and lets it soak back into the ground on your property. Local council regulations require rainwater to stay within your boundary, and a working soakwell keeps it there instead of pooling against your house or running into your neighbour’s yard.
A stormwater soakwell is an underground chamber, usually made from concrete or polypropylene, designed to let water drain out through its sides and base. Downpipes and grates direct rainwater into it, where it’s held briefly before soaking away into the sand. Soakwells are the standard way of managing stormwater on residential properties in Perth and much of Western Australia. Learn more about polypropylene soakwells and concrete soakwells.
The most common causes are sediment and debris on the floor of the soakwell, tree roots growing around it, sand washing into an older unit without geotextile fabric, or a soakwell that’s too small for the roof area feeding it. A soakwell that has collapsed will also stop draining, and usually needs replacing rather than clearing. We’ll inspect it and tell you which one it is before recommending a fix.
Sometimes. We repair large concrete soakwells where the structure can be made sound again, while a failed polypropylene soakwell is best replaced. If a collapse has left a void under paving or concrete, keep people and vehicles off the area until it’s been checked, as it can give way under weight.
If it has an accessible lid, usually a driveway soakwell, it can often be cleared of sediment and debris to bring back the drainage rate. Most soakwells under lawn, garden beds and paving don’t have that access, and in those cases we’ll generally recommend a replacement, backed by our 25-year guarantee. A free soakwell health check will tell you which applies to yours.