G'day all,

Does anyone know if there are requirements for the depth of installation of soakwells in Perth?

More specifically, is there any requirement for the top of the soakwell to be a certain depth below ground level?
Or can it be installed any depth, including the top of the soakwell protruding above ground level?

If I was installing one I'd look at having the top cover of dirt at least 300-500mm.

We've built recently and had the pad raised during the process, whilst building the pad was battered but the builder knew we weren't going to leave it like that, ie- we were having a retaining wall installed after hand over.
Now we're having a retaining wall installed and found that the soakwell protrudes above the level of the natural ground level.
The base of our retaining wall is at the level of what was the natural ground level.

I'm thinking that the plumber that installed the soakwell, didn't put it as deep as he should have due to the batter of the pad.
But the site plans clearly show the natural ground level at that spot and the top of the soakwell is higher than that by around 100mm.
And even the plans were drawn showing the batter stopping short of the location of the soakwell, meaning that the soakwell should have it's top lower than the level indicated on the plans.

I'm trying to find out if there is a minimum top cover required for soakwells, if there is, I can hit the builder up to sink the soakwell further, due to the fact that the block level wasn't taken into account by the plumber.

Thanks anyway Mark

In west Aussie you are required to be a minimum of 1.5 meters away from your footing of your house to the edge of the soak well.
There is no depth requirement, the deeper you dig the higher the water speed hitting the surrounding ground and the more likely it is to sink, so 100 below paving is cool. Hope this helps

Just ask him. Can't do any harm and you may be surprised by the answer.

Fair enough

on the weekend news they reckon you shouldnt park a crane on top of them

Dave Whettingsteel said...
Building regs are pretty specific about this sort of stuff. I'd check with the shire building inspector who will be right onto it.

Yeah I would have thought so, but can't find anything on the council website.
Anyway, put the details to the builder, who has forwarded to the plumber, I've also called them but have not made successful contact yet.
They'll find out I don't give up.

Delwyn said...
Can I add to the question, how close can you build a cement / brick wall to an existing soakwell

It would depend upon the weight loading and ,or the lateral load this placed on the footings of the wall, the size of the footings would also be a factor . Is the soakewll plastic sided , brick , concrete , 10 metres deep or 300mm deep?
All to be factored in before building a wall that fails at a later date.