Soak Away and Selling a House.

[Olf]

A relation of mine is going to sell there house. They've been told by their estate agent that because they have a soakaway (which has been in use for 30 year or more) they need to apply for permission so soak away from the Environment Agency. For the record the land that the soakaway is on is actually part of a larger country estate. The right to soakaway is in the freehold from when the house was removed from the larger estate. Make sense?

Anyway, the estate agent says this permission can take 2 months to get. WTF?

[MrV]

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

Hole in the ground that rain water from the roof goes into instead of a drain

[scotal]

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

Rather than a drain connected to a sewer of some sort, the water goes down a drain and then into the land, so it soaks away.

[Olf]

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

[spitfire-ian]

Olf said:

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

Only storm water not foul water.

[Davi]

spitfire-ian said:

Olf said:

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

Only storm water not foul water.

can be either. (which is why in this instance the environmental peeps are involved).

Foul Soak Aways aren't just a hole full of rocks and rubble, they usually require some form of natural dispersal and filtering system - i.e. a reed bed.

Edited by Davi on Wednesday 5th November 14:30

[Olf]

spitfire-ian said:

Olf said:

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

Only storm water not foul water.

Wanna bet?

[esselte]

spitfire-ian said:

Olf said:

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

Only storm water not foul water.

We had a new garage built and because of it's location we used a soakaway for the water from the roof...all OK'd by local council etc....a 1 metre squared by 1.5 metre deep hole filled with clean aggregate and returfed over....

[Strangely Brown]

Davi said:

spitfire-ian said:

Olf said:

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

A pit that allows you st to disperse into the local water coarse.

Only storm water not foul water.

can be either.

Isn't that actually a leach field as opposed to a soakaway?

Where I live there is no surface water drainage at all. All rainwater downpipes go to soakaways.

[King Herald]

All our roof water, drive drain off, garage roof drain off, AND our neighbours roof drain off, goes into a soak away in our own garden. Yet we STILL have to pay the water board for surface water removal?

I'd call up and complain bitterly, but I've built my new garage over their main sewer line and don't want them to find out, in case they make me demolish it.

[spitfire-ian]

King Herald said:

All our roof water, drive drain off, garage roof drain off, AND our neighbours roof drain off, goes into a soak away in our own garden. Yet we STILL have to pay the water board for surface water removal?

I'd call up and complain bitterly, but I've built my new garage over their main sewer line and don't want them to find out, in case they make me demolish it.

You shouldn't do, all the storm water from my parents house goes into soak aways and they get a discount.

[alock]

mickken said:

Maybe it's just me,....but Soak Away?

For our extension, it looked like this when first dug:



http://adrianlock.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/day-2-l...

[Merritt]

spitfire-ian said:

King Herald said:

All our roof water, drive drain off, garage roof drain off, AND our neighbours roof drain off, goes into a soak away in our own garden. Yet we STILL have to pay the water board for surface water removal?

I'd call up and complain bitterly, but I've built my new garage over their main sewer line and don't want them to find out, in case they make me demolish it.

You shouldn't do, all the storm water from my parents house goes into soak aways and they get a discount.

This is a good point... I have recently tried to convince my water company that none of my surface water goes to sewers but they are not playing ball. Any ideas where I can get proof? I have tried the NHBC but they want £58 to look in their archives!!

The house is around 9 years old for what its worth.

Cheers

Steve

[King Herald]

Merritt said:

spitfire-ian said:

King Herald said:

All our roof water, drive drain off, garage roof drain off, AND our neighbours roof drain off, goes into a soak away in our own garden. Yet we STILL have to pay the water board for surface water removal?

I'd call up and complain bitterly, but I've built my new garage over their main sewer line and don't want them to find out, in case they make me demolish it.

You shouldn't do, all the storm water from my parents house goes into soak aways and they get a discount.

This is a good point... I have recently tried to convince my water company that none of my surface water goes to sewers but they are not playing ball. Any ideas where I can get proof? I have tried the NHBC but they want £58 to look in their archives!!

The house is around 9 years old for what its worth.

Cheers

Steve

Surely you can ask the water board to look on their own drawings, to see where the sewers or drains go, then show them you have no connections to them? Or dig up your soak away to show them?

[npope]

I just put on in for my extension, I think you should phone planning office they will tell you

[UpTheIron]

Olf said:

A relation of mine is going to sell there house. They've been told by their estate agent that because they have a soakaway (which has been in use for 30 year or more) they need to apply for permission so soak away from the Environment Agency. For the record the land that the soakaway is on is actually part of a larger country estate. The right to soakaway is in the freehold from when the house was removed from the larger estate. Make sense?

Anyway, the estate agent says this permission can take 2 months to get. WTF?

That's a new one on me, but I do know that I've never met an EA with good advice on this kind of stuff

[iLuvStrippers]

Reminds me of a story my uncle once told me.
Local council wrote to all the residents complaining that some residents (having recenlt had extensions built etc) had mixed up their storm/foul drains. Result storm water drains full of st!

[Vipers]

Olf said:

A relation of mine is going to sell there house. They've been told by their estate agent that because they have a soakaway (which has been in use for 30 year or more) they need to apply for permission so soak away from the Environment Agency. For the record the land that the soakaway is on is actually part of a larger country estate. The right to soakaway is in the freehold from when the house was removed from the larger estate. Make sense?

Anyway, the estate agent says this permission can take 2 months to get. WTF?

I dont think its much as permission, but some kind of certificate etc. Who ever purchases the property, will inherit any toxins on it, so maybe some sort of certificate of inspection/analysis more than permission to use it.

[r-kid]

King Herald said:

Merritt said:

spitfire-ian said:

King Herald said:

All our roof water, drive drain off, garage roof drain off, AND our neighbours roof drain off, goes into a soak away in our own garden. Yet we STILL have to pay the water board for surface water removal?

I'd call up and complain bitterly, but I've built my new garage over their main sewer line and don't want them to find out, in case they make me demolish it.

You shouldn't do, all the storm water from my parents house goes into soak aways and they get a discount.

This is a good point... I have recently tried to convince my water company that none of my surface water goes to sewers but they are not playing ball. Any ideas where I can get proof? I have tried the NHBC but they want £58 to look in their archives!!

The house is around 9 years old for what its worth.

Cheers

Steve

Surely you can ask the water board to look on their own drawings, to see where the sewers or drains go, then show them you have no connections to them? Or dig up your soak away to show them?

Will cost about £30 but may not help as the records will only show from where the public SW sewer starts. If he has a single curtlage connection that would be classed as privately owned.

Oh about the build over I just hope you don't get a blockage or collapse under there as it would require removal of the Garage to enable the dig & your water company would not be required to reinstate your garage as its an unauthorised build over.

[r-kid]

To the OP, whats the soak away for?

If its just surface water then I can't see why you'd need EA approval.

If its foul then the EA would have to be involved as you need a discharge consent. As you said it was part of a bigger estate, this might already be in place as it'll be water company owned or part of the estate. Did you pay a grounds maintance fee for the property, if so this usually will cover maintenance of private treatment works.