everdecreasingcircle

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. We will have a good read up on everything. Its so hard to find good adivce, yours is much appreciated.

Hi Crunchynut Thats Brilliant, thank you. Yes please all the advice we can get is much appreciated 😊.

Thank you, we have a permit and i thought we had to check it and log the water quality, maybe i have mis understood

Hi we have just got a permit for our stp, can anyone show me their log book for how to record samples, and how often etc. Also to talk me through what they do to keep a check on things. Thank you.

thanks, will do

I believe they are good bacteria that you flush down the loo every month so to promote good bacteria? I just wondered if anyone on here had used them. 😆

Hi I have read abit about these on here. Are they suitable for a STP? Does anyone recommend them? Any advice on using them? Thank you.

Many thanks for everyones responses. Very helpful as always. So glad i found this site.

Thank you for your advice, It has always been completely emptied previously and re filled every year. we were advised by our engineer during its service that it could do with emptying.

Thank you for getting back to me. It would seem that is what has happened in the past. I will speak to outmr engineer. We always fill up with water after emptying.

Our STP needs emptying as it does every year. The engineer said it needed desluding....i just want to check that when it is emptied and jet washed clean, that it is the same as desludging or is that something else? Its a vortex 10 that we have . Many thanks

Thanks Kevin, all these stories are making me feel better. 😊

Thank you, we are struggling to see a way through.

Oh god, 😆. We are more than a bit down, thank you. Its a bloody minefield.

Thank you, yes we are going to apply for a permit, we were badly informed. It was a very stressful time as the old septic tank was leaking and we were under pressure from environmental health to sort it out. we approached a company to repair it and they informed us we didnt need a permit, we thought as it has been passed by building regs all was ok. Hopefully we will get a permit as we are set so low down from the road if not a very expensive error.

Thank you, we upgraded to a sewage treatment plant, its 30m rule from a sewer that is turning out to be a problem. we were advised we didnt need a permit, thought building regs covered it but its a grey area and wildy differing advice. nightmare

Thank you, i think we are just going to pull out of selling our house and apply for a permit and let the EA decide, i have spent 3 weeks talking to different people who all give me different views. Its honestly a nightmare. I think our installer who us no longer in business has given us the wring advice, if we have to change our system it will cost us a fortune but cant see a way forward otherwise. Thanks everyone for your help. All we want is our drainage to be correct and to of done the right thing.

Hi Roger Thank you for replying this is what we beleived too but i think the GBR say if you go from a soakaway to surfave water this is classed as a new discharge and the 30m rule applies.

Yes it was updated in 2017 to a sewage treatment plant. we are selling our house and need to know if our discharge from soakaway to surface water is classed as new or existing and if the fact that there was once historically and over flow pipe affects this. thank you.

We have been told that if your old septic tank system 1974 had an overflow pipe to the river and your sewage treatment system is to surface water as long as it is with in 10m of the overflow it counts as an existing discharge. Has anyone heard of this i cant see anything in the GBR. Our old system had a collapsed culvert running from the soakaway to the river which would solve our issue if true as it would make our discharge existing not new. Ever hopeful

Thank you all for your replies. We have been told that if your old septic tank system 1974 had an overflow pipe to the river and your sewage treatment system is to surface water as long as it is with in 10m of the overflow it counts as an existing discharge. Has anyone heard of this i cant see anything in the GBR. Our old system had a collapsed culvert running from the soakaway to the river which would solve our issue if true as it would make our discharge existing not new. Ever hopeful

Thank you for your replies. Yes we are abou 8 metres down from the road and length of 35 m manhole to main sewer manhole so to speak. i have probably been naive but have just told the buyers and solicitors everything and asked them to try and move it forward. Permits currently taking 6 to 9 months. The discharge is in a shallow area of river with 2 x public footpaths each side so if the new owners didnt look after the system it would soon be apparent. we just want to make sure it is all okay and no risk of anything coming back to us. Its very hard to navigate, i asked the EA and was told its upto you to decide if you meet the rules not they werent that bothered as long as it was working properly. Asked them to put something in writing and they reffered me back to the General binding rules. Think they would be bothered though if something went wrong. Muddled by our neighbours who share the system being a on semi and us being detatched our roof comes up to there basement. they really should of connected to the mains when we upgraded the system as it is very easy for them, as the house they are attached to is on the mains. Really dont know how to sort this muddle.

Thank you, yes it has been signed off by building control. Confusion is that in jan2015 advice changed that you must seek the advice of Environment agency before consulting building regs. i think we also we went from drainage field to river discharge and that is classed as a new discharge. I rang 6 different companies/agencies yesterday and got told 4 different things. We are mid house sale and they asked do we meet the GBR and when i looked saw the 30m one which worried me. Had just beleived our installer before that. 🙄

House bought 2015 septic tank to drainage field. 2017 septic tank burst. Advised to install sewage treatment plant discharge to river. Advised no permit necessary due to size. passed by building control. Selling house asked if we meet the general binding rules. Must not be less than 30m from a mains sewer we are less we are very close at the top of the drive but the house is set about 9m down and 35m along. We were advised we didnt need a permit. Do we? will we get one? how much to install a pumping station? Can i sell my house? Environment Agency no help at all. Different answers from every one i ask. Going round literally in ever decreasing circles.