The Drainage Company Environmental Services

Should I Worry About Sewage Regulations?

jhirstz — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:04:49 +0000

In a word, yes! This is an important consideration for anyone who is not connected to mains drainage or who is thinking about buying or selling such a property.

For a comprehensive discussion of sewage related legislation, please visit our sister site UK Septic Tanks where the Septic Tank Registration and Septic Tank Regulations pages will guide you through this tricky topic.

In essence, since the end of 2011 all owners of septic tanks or sewage treatment plants were required to register with the Environment Agency, no matter how old their plant. This is very important, since if not registered (or already in possession of ‘Consent to Discharge’) you could be liable to a substantial fine and closure of your operation.

We also offer a competitive registration service if you need to register your system – please click here for more details.

What Size Rainwater Harvester Do I Need?

jhirstz — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:34:38 +0000

This calculation can get quite involved but in essence you need to think about a number of factors when sizing for rainwater harvesting, otherwise you won’t get the best performance from the system you install. So it’s really important to get the figures right and strike the correct balance between these elements:

•   Rainwater yield.
•   Rainwater demand.
•   Budget.
•   Overflow frequency.
•   Future proposed applications.

For more details and an on-line calculator please click here to visit our sister website on how to size a rainwater harvesting system.

What is Rainwater Harvesting?

jhirstz — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:23:33 +0000

Saving water, money and the environment are up there on most people’s priorities and that’s where rainwater harvesting comes into its own.

Rainwater harvesting is a way to avoid using mains water for a wide range of applications requiring water but where we don’t need to use drinking water – from watering the garden or washing the car to fire sprinkler, WC flushing and laundry systems. Sometimes rainwater harvesting systems are known as Garden Irrigation Systems.

So, put simply you harvest rain water from roofs, gullies and downpipes, store in an underground tank, pump it and connect so that it’s on demand when you turn on the appropriate tap.

How to size a Cesspit or Cesspool?

jhirstz — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:59 +0000

Sizing criteria for a cesspit or cesspool is based on a loading of 180 litres per person per day and a cesspit needs to have sufficient capacity to hold the waste for 45 days. The minimum capacity for a cesspit should be 18000 litres then you add 6800 litres per person using the property. So for example a 4 bedroom house will need a 42200 litre capacity cesspit.

What are some Cesspit and Cesspool issues?

jhirstz — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:36:59 +0000

Cesspits can be very smelly – they must be vented to avoid a build up of too much gas inside. The gasses that cesspits and cesspools hold are very toxic so try to avoid inspecting them – some people have passed out and fallen into the tank so beware!

Because they have no soakaway, cesspits that service domestic properties need to be quite large – from 18000 litres capacity and for obvious reasons.

What is a Cesspit?

jhirstz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:10:15 +0000

Sometimes known as cesspools, a cesspit is simply a sealed tank in the ground in which effluent from your property is held. So it’s like a septic tank but with no soakaway, which means when it’s full it needs emptying.

Although there are plenty of cesspits still around, many owners are considering conversion to a more sustainable option, such as a sewage treatment plant or septic tank.

Normally, cesspits are temporary solutions until a property is connected to mains drainage but if that’s not possible then the above options could save you a lot of money – as you know it’s not cheap to keep emptying cesspits!

What if my Septic Tank fails?

jhirstz — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:19:04 +0000

Septic tank failing or getting smelly? Ground conditions changed so you can no longer discharge effluent safely into the soil? Well, before rushing off and replacing it with another tank or sewage treatment plant, the good news is that you might be able to install a septic tank conversion kit.

Yes – turn your old septic tank into a sewage treatment plant! There are a number of options available to you – some electrically operated e.g. the Jewel Sewage Treatment System. This is cheap to run and needs little maintenance. It’s easy to install and compact and you can discharge effluent safely into a nearby pond or watercourse.

There’s also a non-electric option called the Biorock – the only non-electrical sewage treatment unit on the planet. There are no moving parts to a Biorock so there’s less to go wrong – it works entirely on movement of air through the system.

What can I do about a failing soakaway?

jhirstz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:00:16 +0000

If it’s a simple blockage near the outlet of the septic tank, high pressure water jetting might shift it. If this makes no difference then it’s probably time to get out your shovel – but before you start digging you might want to use sonar tracing equipment to identify exactly where the blockage is!

It’s not all bad news however – you’ll get to know how your soakaway is built and also what the ground conditions are like – this knowledge can help you decide whether your soakaway needs extending, re-routing or replacing. Bear in mind that some kind of pump at the outlet of the septic tank might be needed to raise the waste water to a better drainage area.

If ground conditions are inadequate for a traditional soakaway to work or you find that you are polluting a nearby watercourse or river etc then you’ll have to bite the bullet and either convert your septic tank into or replace it entirely with a sewage treatment plant.

How will I know if my soakaway is failing?

jhirstz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:39:27 +0000

Let’s start with the obvious – a sewage lake at the bottom of your garden is a bit of a give-away. What about less obvious symptoms? Well, for example are you emptying your septic tank more often? Does waste water come back into the septic tank from the outlet pipe as your tank is being emptied? If the answer is yes, then your soakaway probably needs some attention.

Why do Soakaways go wrong?

jhirstz — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:59:28 +0000

This can happen for various reasons – subsoil can become sealed up with grease, cooking fats and even clothing fibres that pass through the septic tank. Many soakaways (and septic tanks) were constructed before the advent of automatic washing machines and dishwashers, which of course generate large volumes of these substances by doing what they are designed to do. Other factors can be nearby tree roots damaging pipe-work and some drain types used in constructing the soakaway can get silted up and block.

Another scenario to consider is when a change in occupancy overloads the soakaway – imagine a young family moving into a house where an elderly couple had lived, and the sudden increase in volume of water being used! Similar problems can be caused by prolonged, heavy rainfall that saturates the ground and even a shift in the ground water table has been known to overload a soakaway.