Do you own a house or are you thinking about purchasing a house that has a septic tank?
Are you aware of the Law?
Introducing the PWS Home Buyers Survey - Click Here to open a pdf document in a new window.
Premier Water Solutions Ltd offers a piece of mind service and it could enable you to negotiate on the purchasing price. As part of the Home Buyers Survey we investigate and comment on the following:
- The external drainage network
- Location, size and condition of the septic tank or treatment plant
- Calculate the correct hydraulic flows (which allows for dishwashers and washing machines)
- Condition of the soakaway/discharge point
- Provide any recommendations
- Detail remedial works
- Provide budget costs
- Comment on the status and the Law
Premier Water Solutions Ltd are here to help and guide you through the technical jargon that is sometimes associated with these private systems. We all know that the dirty water leaves the house, but where does it all go? For most of us it follows the principle “out of sight out of mind.”
If the septic tank is not correctly sized or if it is has been mistreated, this can result in the failure of the system. This usually results with blocked drains right back to the house, which means unblocking the drains (usually late at night) - a smelly and nasty job.
Septic tanks can go on working for ever if they are cared for. Of course, if you are just about to purchase a house, it is unlikely you will know how the system has been treated. For example, if too much water has been used from the dwelling or if too much fat has been emptied down the drain this can all be very bad news for your sewerage system.
Most of the older housing has a two stage system, which enables the settled water to discharge into a soakaway/ground. Over the years this soakaway can silt up, and a new soakaway may need to be installed. The Law has changed over the years and it will probably mean that a Consent to Discharge will need to be obtained from the Environment Agency - to allow improvements on the existing system. The application process can be costly and time consuming.
If you have a nearby watercourse, it might mean that you need to upgrade to a biological treatment plant (a more expensive option), which will treat the water to a much higher standard and a direct discharge to the river might be more acceptable option to the Environment Agency.
