Stock photo, for illustration only. Last updated .
Whether it’s a plumber in Mawson Lakes for a toilet running on recycled water, an electrician for a townhouse, or a service for a ducted air conditioner, SuperFox can pass your enquiry on. We’re an enquiry service. You send one enquiry and we pass it to one independent local tradie, who calls you back within 24–48 hours and quotes before any work starts.
Mawson Lakes is a planned suburb about 12 km north of the CBD in the City of Salisbury. It was developed from 1998 onwards by Delfin (later Lendlease) with the state government and council, on land once called The Levels. It sits next to Technology Park and a university campus, and its streets wrap around the Sir Douglas Mawson Lake. Almost every home is less than 30 years old, which shapes the kind of work local tradies do here.
The recycled water system: what every owner should know
Mawson Lakes has a dual water supply. Each home gets drinking water from SA Water mains and a second, separate supply of recycled water for toilets, garden watering and some outdoor uses. The recycled water is a blend of treated wastewater and stormwater harvested in the Salisbury area, and its pipes and meters are coloured lilac or purple.
This matters for any plumbing job:
- The two supplies must never be connected to each other. A cross-connection could send non-drinking water to your kitchen tap.
- Renovations that move a toilet, add a garden tap or change irrigation must use the right supply.
- The City of Salisbury carries out periodic audits of residential recycled water plumbing, and recommends owners do their own simple check in between.
Always tell the plumber that your home has recycled water. A licensed plumber will identify both supplies before cutting into any pipe. For more about plumbing in general, see the Adelaide plumber hub.
Townhouses, apartments and strata
Mawson Lakes has a big mix of housing: detached homes, semi-detached and terrace houses, two-storey homes around the lake, and apartments near Mawson Central. Compact homes create their own tradie issues:
| Housing type | Things to sort out first |
|---|---|
| Detached house | Usually straightforward. Access to the meter box and roof space |
| Terrace or townhouse | Shared walls, limited space for outdoor units, strata rules |
| Apartment | Common property pipes and wiring, building access, parking for the tradie |
If you’re in a strata building, check with the strata manager before arranging work on shared pipes, risers or the building’s switchboard.
Common jobs in a newer suburb
Because the housing is fairly new, Mawson Lakes enquiries tend to be about upgrades and wear rather than old pipes and fuses:
- Hot water replacement. Original systems from the early 2000s are reaching the end of their life. Many owners now ask about heat pump hot water as an alternative to gas or electric storage.
- Leaking taps and toilets. Worn cistern valves on both drinking and recycled water toilets.
- Electrical additions. Extra power points, outdoor lighting, ceiling fans and EV chargers in garages. See the electrician hub.
- Air con servicing. Many homes have ducted or split systems that are now 10–20 years old. Read about air conditioning servicing to see what a service covers.
Summer on the northern plains
Mawson Lakes is flat, low-lying and exposed to hot northerly winds in summer. Air conditioners work hard through heatwaves, and the ones that fail tend to do it on the hottest days. A quick check before December is a good idea: clean the filters, clear the outdoor unit and listen for unusual noises. For more on choosing or replacing a system, visit the air conditioning hub.
A quick self-check for recycled water homes
You don’t need tools to spot a possible problem. Every so often, have a look at these:
- the purple or lilac meter is still separate from the drinking water meter, with no new joining pipes
- garden taps on recycled water still have their lilac colour or warning signs
- the drinking water at the kitchen tap looks, smells and tastes normal
- nobody has added a hose connection, irrigation line or tap that links the two systems
If anything looks wrong, stop using the water for drinking, contact the City of Salisbury or SA Water, and have a licensed plumber check the pipework. Never try to change recycled water plumbing yourself, even for small jobs like moving a garden tap.
Nearby areas
Tradies who work Mawson Lakes usually cover Pooraka, Parafield Gardens, Salisbury and Dry Creek too. See Salisbury for the neighbouring council centre, or Modbury to the east.
Getting it sorted
Send one enquiry through the contact form or call 08 6800 6079. One local tradie will call you back within 24–48 hours to discuss the job and quote before starting work.