Septic tank soakaway

[bornfree]

Not on mains drainage so I have a septic tank. It's a 1950s design with two brick settlement chambers and a large brick soakaway tank 6 feet diameter by 15 feet deep. The problem is that it's not soaking away, it's filling after about 3 months. I was thinking of running a soakaway pipe from the tank but what's best a perforated pipe with gravel or polybed pipe . 

[Fuddster]

there were some major changes to septics etc that came into force Ist Jan 2020-my tank no longer conforms to the old rules and has to be changed-might be worth doing a bit of research.

my system was good enough in 1985 when the house was built but the exclusion of 'it complied then' is no longer valid.

get some advice from a reputable drainage company.

atb

f.  

[Diver One]

What @Fuddsterjust said

, m mate has bought a house and nobody picked up on it having a septic tank

when he found out he thought it was ok and then a chance meeting with a mate of my son's and it all went horribly wrong and expensive

 

house should not have been sold with its 1950s tank, and its shared with next door ! vendor had already reduced price for a quick sale and wouldn't pay any towards cost even though what he had done was illegal

total cost between him and neighbour is £20k!!

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, don't use perforated as the weeds can grow through and block up the pipe, 

[millrace]

The gravel in the tank is gunked up,prob never been changed,assuming it's done this way,,,ie you've got  4 walls and a filterbed, 

 

 

[Benthejockey]

It's all to do with the amount of water discharged and where it goes as to whether your tank conforms to regs if I remeber rightly. Sellers bypassed the change of regs by saying they were on the process of getting a permit from the EA which was basically a form filling exercise when we sold 18months ago. Whether it's more tricky now the rule change has come in proper I don't know.

[12gauge82]

Package sewage treatment plants are a good way to go these days, like one of the products from marsh

[Marccus]

15 feet deep?  Is that right?

[39TDS]

Besides all the above, check that rainwater isn't being sent into it.

New extension or replaced gutter system being sent into the septic tank is quite common.

[oowee]

I have the same system but without the soak away. Mine has an outlet pipe running to a ditch and then to the watercourse. I have a discharge exemption certificate from the EA dated 2011 from when I bought the place, to continue with its use. The pipe from the pit to the drainage ditch is about 20m and the pipe has collapsed so much of the liquid soaks away into the ground just as if it were a filter bed. All works well but recently started to fill up and I found that the wall that supports the concrete beam roof had a block missing allowing surface water into the tank. I replaced the block and looks to be good although we have not had a heavy down pour to try test it.

[Stonepark]

11 hours ago, bornfree said:

Not on mains drainage so I have a septic tank. It's a 1950s design with two brick settlement chambers and a large brick soakaway tank 6 feet diameter by 15 feet deep. The problem is that it's not soaking away, it's filling after about 3 months. I was thinking of running a soakaway pipe from the tank but what's best a perforated pipe with gravel or polybed pipe . 

Make sure clean water bypasses the tanks, remove the sediment from the bottom of the soakaway as over time it becomes clogged up.

If you have 2 settlement chambers it is a better design than most which only gave one.

If you have room on your property for soakaway pipe, perforated pipe with gravel is fine but any changes to system will normally  trigger  registration and may result in whole system having to be replaced as will putting soakaway on someone else's property.

 

DO NOT WORK INSIDE THE SOAKAWAY TANK WITHOUT A ROPE SYSTEM TO PULL YOU OUT AND HELP CAPABLE OF DOING SO AS THESE TANKS OFTEN HAVE HYDROGEN CYANIDE ISSUES.

 

[bornfree]

On 27/06/2020 at 08:28, Marccus said:

15 feet deep?  Is that right?

yes i can fill a 2000 gallon slurry tanker when i empty it.

On 27/06/2020 at 09:42, Stonepark said:

Make sure clean water bypasses the tanks, remove the sediment from the bottom of the soakaway as over time it becomes clogged up.

If you have 2 settlement chambers it is a better design than most which only gave one.

If you have room on your property for soakaway pipe, perforated pipe with gravel is fine but any changes to system will normally  trigger  registration and may result in whole system having to be replaced as will putting soakaway on someone else's property.

 

DO NOT WORK INSIDE THE SOAKAWAY TANK WITHOUT A ROPE SYSTEM TO PULL YOU OUT AND HELP CAPABLE OF DOING SO AS THESE TANKS OFTEN HAVE HYDROGEN CYANIDE ISSUES.

 

the tank is brick built with 1/2 brick gaps in the walls so i guess its supposed to soakaway through the sides. i have enough room for about 100 ft of soakaway pipe.