Larger blocks, more water, different problems
On a standard suburban lot, a garden is a small part of the water story. On the bigger Orange Grove properties it frequently is the water story.
About one in four Perth household gardens runs off a private garden bore drawing on the shallow Superficial aquifer — and on larger blocks that proportion goes up sharply, because reticulating a big garden off scheme water is not a sensible way to do it.
What comes out of that bore is untreated groundwater. It has not been through any treatment plant. It arrives carrying whatever the ground here holds, and two bores a few hundred metres apart can deliver noticeably different water.
That is why we will not quote a bore system over the phone. The right equipment depends entirely on what your particular bore is putting out.
What untreated groundwater does out here
The complaints are consistent and they are rarely about drinking.
Iron staining
The orange-brown marks on paving, limestone, fences and rendered walls. Iron leaves the ground dissolved and clear, meets air, oxidises, and stains whatever it landed on. That is why the water looks fine coming out of the sprinkler and the wall does not.
Sprinklers and solenoids
Sediment and iron deposits build up in small orifices. Heads that stop rotating, zones losing pressure, and a controller blamed for something that is not electrical.
Pump wear
Grit through a pump does what grit through any pump does, and a pump is the expensive part of a bore.
Smell
Some bores have a sulphur character that comes and goes seasonally.
Sediment, dissolved iron and smell are three separate problems. Suspended material is dealt with physically. Dissolved iron has to be brought out of solution before anything can catch it — which is exactly why a plain sediment filter on an iron bore disappoints people and costs them money for no change. We look first, then price. Bore water filtration
The bore and the house stay separate
Worth being clear about, because it is the part people assume is flexible.
Bore water feeds the garden and the reticulation. It is not connected to the household drinking supply, and the two have to remain physically separated so that nothing from the bore can reach the scheme water in the house or the mains in the street. That separation is a requirement, not a preference, and it is a large part of why bore work belongs with a licensed plumber.
So if your question is about the water in the kitchen, that is scheme water and a different system entirely. Plenty of Orange Grove properties end up with both jobs — bore treatment outside, drinking water filtration inside. We quote them separately so you can see what each one is actually for.
Inside the house
For the drinking water, the same options apply here as anywhere.
Under-sink filter
if the complaint is taste, smell or chlorine. Cheapest correct answer, treats the kitchen tap. Under-sink installation
Mains filter
where the water enters the property, if sediment or something else is showing at more than one outlet. On larger blocks there is usually a sensible sheltered spot for it, which is not always true on a tight suburban lot. Whole house filtration
Reverse osmosis
if you want the drinking water treated as thoroughly as it reasonably gets. Reverse osmosis
The scheme water arriving at Orange Grove is the same supply as the rest of the district — Perth's Integrated Water Supply Scheme, roughly 44.6% groundwater, 36% desalinated seawater and 18.7% surface water, with proportions that shift through the year.
Cartridges load faster here
One thing to plan for if the job involves a bore.
A cartridge handling untreated groundwater loads far faster than one handling treated scheme water. That is not a defect, it is arithmetic. A household figure printed on a box will be wrong, often by a lot.
We will tell you at install time what sort of interval your bore is realistically going to demand, so the running cost is understood before you buy rather than discovered afterwards. Cartridge replacement
Why Orange Grove calls us
A licensed plumber does the work
Plumbing Licence 8396 and Gas Licence 13098, both held by Tim. Bore work in particular is not a job for whoever is available.
$0 call-out fee
We come out and look at the bore, the pump and the lines at no charge.
Free quote, written down first
Transparent pricing, no hidden costs.
We say when a system will not fix it
Which matters most on bores, where the wrong equipment fitted confidently changes nothing.
Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 4:00pm.