Septic tank query

[BrentonA]

Morning all, newbie here. I own a small outdoor activity centre in London. My site is not connected to mains water or sewage and whilst i'm investigating the cost of connecting to the sewers, I'd also like to look at a septic tank. The nearest tap is about 120m away, so I'm thinking of getting water in by using a bowser, then either pumping the water into a water tank or letting gravity do it's thing.  My centre is used mainly at weekends where I run 4-5 x 2 hour sessions. Each session will have upto 20 people. I would say on average 3 people per session need to use the toilet (for number 1's only) plus my 2 or 3 members of staff will use it, say 3 times a day each. 

 

I'm thinking of having one toilet (pan) and one long (about 1m) urinal and plan to somehow use rainwater to flush these. Also want a foot operated sink for handwashing.

All waste to flow into a septic tank and then (apart from the solids) into a drainage field.

 

I've been looking at this, https://www.septictank.co.uk/Cube-Septic-Tank/ but I have no idea if it's any good. Don't want to do it on the cheap, but also don't want to get an expensive tank if I don't need to.

 

Anyone got an advice? Is there anything I need to be aware of? With regards to the sewers, I'm planning on going to my local council office to have a look at the sewage map and then take it from there. Any idea of costs to connect to the mains? Should I just get one of the many companies I've seen on the internet to do everything (application etc etc) for me?

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

B 

[TonyT]

Watch out for stored water as you are a business you will need to take legionella seriously.

given the hassle with bowsers etc it may be worth getting a quote for a water connection.

 

do you have mains power on site?

 

 

[Cpd]

26 minutes ago, BrentonA said:

The nearest tap is about 120m away,

That’s not far away in regards to a length of buried water pipe. 

 

28 minutes ago, BrentonA said:

Also want a foot operated sink for handwashing.

Sound terrible... just connect to the water connection 120m away and install a proper sink and tap. 

 

29 minutes ago, BrentonA said:

I've been looking at this, https://www.septictank.co.uk/Cube-Septic-Tank/ 

These look very cheap and not very cheerful 

 

Why not connect to the tap 120m away and then you have endless water ?  
as @TonyT says do you have power on site - do you need to legally provide hot water for hand washing?  
using stored water should be a last resort. 
I think you will need a much bigger tank than the ones you are looking at. 
are you even allowed to install a septic tank or does it have to be sewage treatment plant ? 
 

[BrentonA]

Thanks all. Yes I have power. I would much prefer to be connected to mains water and sewage, but any trench I need to dig for water will mean digging up an area of very expensive astroturf. 

As I said, I will look at connecting the sewers and at the same time will look at mains water. Just want to keep my options open

[TonyT]

Fold the Astroturf at the nearest join and dig trench , re instate.

 

we regularly excavate , install duct and relay with little evidence of disruption 

[TonyT]

I have a few septic tanks that I manage, we pay about £900 to empty 2500 gallons of liquid gold.

so best to ask how much locally to empty tanks as this may push you to the fixed installation if you consider running costs

[jfb]

Have you looked into compost loos? Not sure about the regulations surrounding them but it would be a much cheaper to install though you would have to consider how feasible it would be to deal with the waste and compost it down successfully.