septic tank regs 2020

We have to replace our septic tank because the drainfield is clogged and it s discharging dirty water into a farmer's ditch.

Else £30,000 fine is possible.

But its shared and the neighbours wont agree on anything

tanks have to be replaced regardless of how they work.

rrect and what is not.

perfectly? Really? Why?

how come when I eat a Herring I always think of septic tanks...?

You need to have a tank meeting modern regs which is almost always an active bio-stirrer one IF YOU REPLACE A TANK. But no building reg has EVER been retrospective.

I think you can't sell the property until it complies.

I think you can, actually.

ok, if it doesn't comply, you can only sell it if the buyer agrees they will be responsible for making it comply ...

I am not selling my house. I have no thoughts of same.

I am not replacing the tank at all, as I said it works.

I do not discharge into a ditch or a water course in anyones field or anywhere else. The drainage field runs across my own garden and leaches out . No water course anywhere.

So, the You tube stuff doesnt apply then?

the 2015 regs are retrospective int he sense that if your tanks dont meet modern regs (like ours which discharges dirty water into a ditch) then you have to get it sorted.

A similar retrospective law was the anti smog laws where londoners were told they couldnt burn coal any more

and the EU anti pollution laws which finally cleared sewage from British Beaches

Indeed we cant sell our properties until the septic discharge into the ditch is solved.

Maybe by auction?

always an

Rejected by the seller as there is no legal requirment for anything to be changed. Mortgage company might try an insist but that is the buyers problem not the sellers.

ISTR that the requirement for a active system only applies if the out fall is into a water course, even for new/replacement systems. A drainage field is not a water course.

How many times can the £30,000 fine be levied ?.

leaches out where ?, and after a winter like the last one, most water ends up in a water course somewhere.

And Part 17/18 electrics that are needed if you want to let the property.

"if you have a specific septic tank that discharges to surface water... "

"you are required to upgrade or replace your septic tank treatment system to a full sewage treatment plant by 2020, "

"if you have a specific septic tank that discharges to surface water... "

because someone in power said so

so...how far does a septic tank have to be from a dwelling and how far from a public sewer do you have to be these days to be allowed a septic tank..?

How do you mean "how far from a public sewer do you have to be these days to be allowed a septic tank"? Are you saying that if there was a public sewer running past your house, you would even *want* a septic tank? They are a solution of last resort when there isn't a sewer nearby.

As regards "how far does a septic tank have to be from a dwelling?", is the restriction where the tank is/are, or is it where the outflow is? Is it legal to have a tank within about 10 feet of part of the house, but the discharge is about 50 feet away?

I don't think septic tanks are allowable any more AT ALL.

in new builds no-one is allowed a septic tank

haven't been for ages

They are not allowed to be fitted as a replacement for an old one, or for a new-build. But if you already have one, you are not required to have it replaced with a mini sewage works as long as it discharges into a soakaway and not into a water course. Let's hope that ruling doesn't change, otherwise we'll be saddled with a large bill.

It doesn't mention any difference in regulations between existing and new discharge, just that if you already or were planning to in a new installation discharge into a water course, you need the full plant; but if you already or were planning to in a new installation discharge into a soakaway, then a septic tank is fine.

Of course that may not be a full and accurate statement of the regs., though it seems to correspond with

The gov.uk site says "You must get the sludge that builds up in your septic tank or small sewage treatment plant removed (desludged) before it exceeds the maximum capacity. As a minimum, you should have your treatment system desludged once a year or in line with the manufacturer?s instructions." I presume "at a minimum" means "at least as frequently as".

My parents' holiday cottage has a septic tank for the sewage, as have all the other houses in the village. But the grey water (bath / washing up water) discharges (via a communal drain) into a nearby stream, which I'm sure is not allowed...

Funny story: when we bought the cottage, the septic tank had been installed and was being used, but in the back garden was a large breezeblock-lined open pit, with a ceramic T piece from a pipe half-way up. It was about

It's just dawned on me why the house with the noisy treatment plant has one: it's right next to a stream, so even if there was space under the lawn for a soakaway / discharge field, it would probably be too close to the stream.