A plan to investigate ways of providing effective disposal of domestic wastewater from the unsewered areas of Perth, Western Australia other than by conventional sewerage is proposed by the Metropolitan Water Board of Perth. Existing on-site systems, I.e., septic tanks and soil absorption systems, cannot be considered satisfactory for long term use without improved design and regular maintenance. Current technology on small flow management including recent work on operation and restoration of conventional soil absorption systems, is presented and referenced. The investigation will test, for local conditions, different designs of on-site wastewater effluent disposal systems and also some effects on the soil and groundwater resulting from existing and future on-site soakage systems. Small bore pressure systems will be installed and operated – a scheme using grinder pumps is being installed initially.