Plumber Martin

Martin WA 6110, City of Gosnells. About 22 km south-east of the Perth CBD.

Martin sits about twenty-two kilometres south-east of the Perth CBD in the City of Gosnells, on the bushland fringe where the plain meets the Darling Scarp. It is semi-rural, with large blocks, bush cover and almost no commercial development. For a plumber that means septic systems rather than sewer on many properties, bores and rainwater tanks in place of full scheme supply, and long private pipe runs that have to be located before anything is dug.

• Blocks on septic rather than sewerA large share of Martin is unsewered and runs a septic tank with leach drains. Those systems fail gradually, and the first sign is a wet patch or a smell rather than a backed-up fixture. They want pumping out on a schedule, because a surfaced leach drain is a far bigger job than a pump-out.
• Rainwater tanks and bores doing real workTank and bore supply here is not a garden convenience, it is the household water. Pumps, pressure vessels and filters are the components that fail, and hard bore water scales up hot water elements and tapware much faster than scheme water does.
• Long private service runs across bush blocksA house set well back from the road carries a long private water line, and a leak anywhere along it can surface a long way from the break. Electronic location saves digging a bush block up to find out where the pipe actually goes.
• Fire water supply that has to workOn the bushland fringe the tank, the pump and the pipework and valves on them are part of the property's fire preparation. Perished hose, a seized pump or a valve that will not open are worth finding in autumn rather than in February, and they are checked at the same visit as the rest of the water supply.