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What can you do with a drainage field, long-term?


Drellingore

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Once a drainage field is installed and signed off by building control, what can you actually do on it long term?

 

Is it a case of it's basically 'dead land' that sits there being slightly boggy? Can you realistically plant stuff over the top? If it's designed correctly, would it be boggy at all? Presumably driving over it is a massive no-no.

Edited by Drellingore
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21 minutes ago, Drellingore said:

Once a drainage field is installed and signed off by building control, what can you actually do on it long term?

 

I believe the advice is not to plant a vegetable patch or fruit trees over, but as long as you are not consuming anything grown over the area you can plant what you like, incl. lawn. Assuming you haven't got a very high water table, where a drainage field would not be appropriate, it won't be boggy. 

 

I don't believe you could install in such a way that it would be OK to drive over.

Edited by IanR
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2 hours ago, IanR said:

 

I believe the advice is not to plant a vegetable patch or fruit trees over, but as long as you are not consuming anything grown over the area you can plant what you like, incl. lawn. Assuming you haven't got a very high water table, where a drainage field would not be appropriate, it won't be boggy. 

 

I don't believe you could install in such a way that it would be OK to drive over.

The drainage field for our previous house and at least 2 others in this road, is under the field behind us, which is Arable land growing usually wheat or barley.  So there does not appear to be an issue growing "food" on the land.

 

The drainage field is quite deep deliberately to be well below the depth a plough would turn the soil.

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Depends, if you can use infiltration tunnels, then you can drive over it. Local ground conditions, building control etc will want to approve the design for this first. Also depends if you have a septic tank or STP. If you have septic tank, no chance, as you need the aerobic air content from the soil. If you have a STP then you *may* be able to lay a re-inforced concrete slab over the drainage field. This will probably massively depending on the winter water table level of the site, percolation value and percentage of the drainage field that will be covered by the slab.

 

It won't be boggy (if it is, it has been sized incorrectly or the percolation testing has been done incorrectly, giving a false reading). Most domestic properties have it under their back garden and you would never know its there. They don't smell or cause any issue to the soil (when installed correctly).

 

Its all down to design and local conditions, speak to a qualified drainage engineer, get your percolation testing done (professionally) and then give your designs to your building controller, (they will usually just say yes or no).

Edited by crooksey
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16 hours ago, Susie said:

Is it classed as agricultural land or garden?

What did you want to do with it?

 

We have the choice of both, depending on where we put it. The agricultural land is due to be an underplanted orchard, so tree roots would be a problem. We could use that area for something smaller, like bushes though?

 

1 hour ago, crooksey said:

if you can use infiltration tunnels, then you can drive over it

 

Ooh, I'd not heard of these! That could be really handy, as there's a bit of land that a neighbour has right-of-access over for farm machinery. So we can't put anything above ground there, so if we can put in something robust enough to withstand a tractor going over it once in a blue moon, that'd be a really good way of using 'dead' space.

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You will need to speak to the EA, but they are usually pretty good with these now (I know off a few contractors who have used them on jobs). Providing you have a detailed design, justification for using one and acceptable percolation tests.

 

You mentioned "Southern Water" so you may be on the south coast, take a look here:

 

https://www.homeseptic.co.uk/infiltration-tunnels/

 

These guys are based in the south (I have no affiliation) but have some good information and also carry out installations. 

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Just to add, if you go with graf tunnels, you will need a graf plant, as the graf plant's specifically reference this in their data sheets. Graf also do further filtration systems, such as a chlorine or sand filter, if you have these then the EA may be *more* happy.

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