Septic tanks illegal from 2020
Discussion
Just found out about his from a neighbour and confirmed it with Environment agency.
No mains drainage in our rural road, our septic tank discharges into a stream.
Seems that we have to have a sewage treatment plant e.g Klargester fitted by 2010 or sooner if we sell the house (which is unlikely)
No idea on the different types/makes/models/running costs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ground is heavy Wealden clay like rock when dry and very heavy/sticky when wet. I don't think it would be easy to dig the required hole/ trenches for pipes.
Not sure how big the hole needs to be, do we need a mini digger or JCB (either on with operator), thinking about access into the garden.
What happens to the old septic tank? Empty and block off? Could the top be removed and the treatment plant be put in there?
Neighbour says price to supply and fit his one is IRO £10K. Does this sound about right?
Many questions, hopefully the PH massive can provide some answers
Thanks
No mains drainage in our rural road, our septic tank discharges into a stream.
Seems that we have to have a sewage treatment plant e.g Klargester fitted by 2010 or sooner if we sell the house (which is unlikely)
No idea on the different types/makes/models/running costs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ground is heavy Wealden clay like rock when dry and very heavy/sticky when wet. I don't think it would be easy to dig the required hole/ trenches for pipes.
Not sure how big the hole needs to be, do we need a mini digger or JCB (either on with operator), thinking about access into the garden.
What happens to the old septic tank? Empty and block off? Could the top be removed and the treatment plant be put in there?
Neighbour says price to supply and fit his one is IRO £10K. Does this sound about right?
Many questions, hopefully the PH massive can provide some answers
Thanks
Etretat said:
Just found out about his from a neighbour and confirmed it with Environment agency.
No mains drainage in our rural road, our septic tank discharges into a stream.
Seems that we have to have a sewage treatment plant e.g Klargester fitted by 2010 or sooner if we sell the house (which is unlikely)
No idea on the different types/makes/models/running costs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ground is heavy Wealden clay like rock when dry and very heavy/sticky when wet. I don't think it would be easy to dig the required hole/ trenches for pipes.
Not sure how big the hole needs to be, do we need a mini digger or JCB (either on with operator), thinking about access into the garden.
What happens to the old septic tank? Empty and block off? Could the top be removed and the treatment plant be put in there?
Neighbour says price to supply and fit his one is IRO £10K. Does this sound about right?
Many questions, hopefully the PH massive can provide some answers
Thanks
Title is misleading, septics aren't going to become illegal in 2020, discharging of separated waste water directly into a water course will be.No mains drainage in our rural road, our septic tank discharges into a stream.
Seems that we have to have a sewage treatment plant e.g Klargester fitted by 2010 or sooner if we sell the house (which is unlikely)
No idea on the different types/makes/models/running costs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ground is heavy Wealden clay like rock when dry and very heavy/sticky when wet. I don't think it would be easy to dig the required hole/ trenches for pipes.
Not sure how big the hole needs to be, do we need a mini digger or JCB (either on with operator), thinking about access into the garden.
What happens to the old septic tank? Empty and block off? Could the top be removed and the treatment plant be put in there?
Neighbour says price to supply and fit his one is IRO £10K. Does this sound about right?
Many questions, hopefully the PH massive can provide some answers
Thanks
http://www.ukdpsolutions.co.uk/its-all-change-in-2...
So if you can engineer yours to discharge to a soak-away, you'll be fine.
Treatment plants digest the waste that goes in there with the exception of a small volume of solids, they need emptying less frequently than septic tanks and are generally smaller, if your ST is sized properly the treatment plant should fit in the same zone. your outlet will need to go to the watercourse which will only be permitted if it doesn't fall in an SSSI and does have a reasonable flow into it.
just google it, you'll get all the licenses available from .gov website.
just google it, you'll get all the licenses available from .gov website.
Mammasaid said:
Title is misleading, septics aren't going to become illegal in 2020, discharging of separated waste water directly into a water course will be.
http://www.ukdpsolutions.co.uk/its-all-change-in-2...
So if you can engineer yours to discharge to a soak-away, you'll be fine.
OP has already stated he's in thick Wealden clay. Having a property on thick Sussex clay myself, we know that soak-away's don't work here.http://www.ukdpsolutions.co.uk/its-all-change-in-2...
So if you can engineer yours to discharge to a soak-away, you'll be fine.
Not an easy or cheap solution.....
Perhaps I could have put that it was discharging "untreated " sewage into a watercourse in the topic header, not sure it would all fit.
As Rosscow said, soak away not an option which is possibly why it was built many years ago with direct overflow into the stream rather than creating a Leaching field.
My neighbour said that his septic tank had failed, perhaps the Leaching field has blocked.
Any ideas on the installation and running costs?
As Rosscow said, soak away not an option which is possibly why it was built many years ago with direct overflow into the stream rather than creating a Leaching field.
My neighbour said that his septic tank had failed, perhaps the Leaching field has blocked.
Any ideas on the installation and running costs?
Soak way drains should discharge into a gravel bed that they are laid in. The trenches that are dug for the gravel should only really be at topsoil level so that the water can soak into the topsoil not into the sub soil/clay etc.
If there is a "fall" problem then a pumping manhole could be installed to get the waste liquid to evacuate into drains at a higher point.
If the liquid that leaves a septic tank goes into a sand filter bed before the drains I imagine it's a lot clearer.
If there is a "fall" problem then a pumping manhole could be installed to get the waste liquid to evacuate into drains at a higher point.
If the liquid that leaves a septic tank goes into a sand filter bed before the drains I imagine it's a lot clearer.
Apologies if this is slightly off topic, but the thread title called out to me.
Mrs BH and I are considering the "place in the country" thing and virtually all of the houses that we are looking at are not on mains sewerage. With no experience of all things septic tanks are there specific questions that we should ask the vendors about theirs?
Would the type of system, it's age and any required upgrades/replacement due to legislation needs be picked up by your solicitor during the conveyancing?
Worse case if we had to have a new replacement system supplied and fitted then how many thousands of pounds are we talking about?
TIA
Mrs BH and I are considering the "place in the country" thing and virtually all of the houses that we are looking at are not on mains sewerage. With no experience of all things septic tanks are there specific questions that we should ask the vendors about theirs?
Would the type of system, it's age and any required upgrades/replacement due to legislation needs be picked up by your solicitor during the conveyancing?
Worse case if we had to have a new replacement system supplied and fitted then how many thousands of pounds are we talking about?
TIA
Septic tanks should not discharge into a stream anyway. Needs to be a STP and have a consent to discharge if you cannot have a soakaway.
The new legislation change basically stopped the EA from issuing 10 day notices when they found out about septic tanks discharging into a water course. Failure = big fines for pollution! I've seen £10K+ for people refusing to do anything about it. The approach was too aggressive.
The new legislation when published (last year) means they have to give notice at present if they find the above (think it's 6 or 12 months) but as of 2020, they can go back to the immediate warnings/sanctions due to the change in the law.
The new legislation change basically stopped the EA from issuing 10 day notices when they found out about septic tanks discharging into a water course. Failure = big fines for pollution! I've seen £10K+ for people refusing to do anything about it. The approach was too aggressive.
The new legislation when published (last year) means they have to give notice at present if they find the above (think it's 6 or 12 months) but as of 2020, they can go back to the immediate warnings/sanctions due to the change in the law.
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