Plumber Como

Como WA 6152, City of South Perth. About 5 km south of the Perth CBD.

Como stretches south from the Swan River about five kilometres from the Perth CBD in the City of South Perth, subdivided from 1905 and split down the middle by Canning Highway. Around Canning Bridge station it is being redeveloped at high density; elsewhere it holds housing from the first half of last century. For a plumber that means century-old drainage in some streets, new apartment connections in others, and ground that falls toward the river.

• A suburb divided by the highwayThe Como streets near Canning Bridge and those further back have almost nothing in common. One is apartment connections and shared services, the other is original drainage under pre-war houses, and the same complaint means different work in each.
• Density around Canning BridgeNew apartment buildings there connect into mains laid when the area was detached housing. Capacity and pressure at those connections are worth checking at design stage rather than after residents move in and complain.
• Pre-war housing on original servicesHouses from the early decades here are running drainage that has been patched rather than replaced. Recurring blockages in those streets reflect the condition of the line, and we camera it before pricing anything.
• Ground falling toward the riverThe northern part of Como slopes down to the Swan, and the low blocks hold groundwater through winter. Soakage there performs poorly in the wet season, so stormwater needs designing for the fall and the ground rather than to a standard detail.