Donate SIGN UP

Septic Tank

Avatar Image
Palustris | 17:15 Sun 20th Jan 2019 | Property
12 Answers
We have a Septic tank, installed according to the rules in 1900. So it has been in use for 119 years. The discharge is by a infiltration system into the field behind the house, again as it has done for 119 years. Using the Environmental Agency calculator we discharge less than 0.75.cu per day (a lot less as there are only 2 people in the house) So the question for you legal eagles is, Do we need a permit to carry on using it?
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 12 of 12rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by Palustris. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
Do you have a single chamber or two?
Our two chamber one, which is enormous, (probably 10 by 10 by 8 feet in each chamber) acts as its own bio-digester for two people - discharge into a soaker on our own land.
Our second chamber discharges into our soakaway on our own land. The first one is emptied annually, our choice.

I dont think you need a permit, thousands of people across the country have septic tanks discharging into soakaways and 119 years ago it will have been built beautifully.
Question Author
Thank-you.
It is a two chamber build, in thick concrete. It soaks away into the field behind us as I said. As far fas we can ascertain from the Environment Website as the volume of the outflow is less than 2 cu mtres we do not need a permit, but would like to have that confirmed by someone in the know.
erm yeah I was gonna say
https://www.gov.uk/permits-you-need-for-septic-tanks/general-binding-rules

and you come within the general binding rules with flow less than 2 cu m a day
Question Author
The site says you must apply for a permit if the outflow is MORE than 2 cu m a day, ours is 0.75cu, m
Question Author
Confusing is it not?
Question Author
I think this is the important rule
If there were no British Standards in place when your treatment system was installed (that is before 1983) you do not need to do anything else to meet this requirement.
// The site says you must apply for a permit if the outflow is MORE than 2 cu m a day, ours is 0.75cu, m.
confuding is it not?

no your outflow is 0.75 cu m which is less than 2 cu m and so you dont apply

there is no implied double negative ( which DOES confuse)
Two of us but you and the E-Agency haven't met my mother.
Question Author
The 0.75 cu m. output is from their figures for a three bedroomed house. From our water meter usage figures (only source of water going into the tank) we use about 75 cu m. of water a YEAR. That works out at around 1.5 cu m. a week. Slightly less than they suggest.
Anyway thanks for the input everyone, we have sent the form back to the Solicitors now, so we will wait and see what happens.
one of us HAS confused days and years....
I still think you are way under

1 to 12 of 12rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Septic Tank

Answer Question >>