The answer to this question may not be obvious. Is Your Home or Building on a Septic System?
It is important to know if your building is on a septic system. Septic systems are the norm in rural areas, but they can be quite common in urban areas as well. Because septic systems are buried, it is easy to forget about them as they quietly, elegantly and efficiently maintain human and environmental health. Many buildings and homes have on-site wastewater management systems, commonly called septic systems. Locating the Septic Tank and Drainfield.Is Your Home or Building on a Septic System?.Drainage fields should be set out as a continuous loop fed from the inspection chamber.Ellen Bauske, Mussie Habteselassie and Mark Risse.An inspection or a sample chamber should be installed between the septic tank and the drainage field.The remainder of the trench can be filled with soil the distribution pipes should be laid at a minimum depth of 500mm below the surface.ĭrainage trenches should be from 300mm to 900mm wide, with areas of undisturbed ground 2m wide being maintained between parallel trenches. Trenches should be filled to a level 50mm above the pipe and covered with a layer of non-woven geotextile to prevent the entry of silt.Pipes should be laid on a 300mm layer of clean shingle or broken stone graded between 20mm and 50mm.Drainage fields should be constructed using perforated pipe, laid in trenches of a uniform gradient which should not be steeper than 1:200.Drainage fields should be designed and constructed to ensure aerobic contact between the liquid effluent and the subsoil.A geotextile keeps them at bay so that the drainage holes aren’t blocked and the flow of water is unimpeded.Īs per Building Regulations 2010 Drainage and Waste Disposal Part H: If the pipes were laid and covered without one, the drainage field would be at risk of being blocked by silt, leaves, or compressed soil from above. Geotextiles are permeable fabrics that improve ground stability and aid water filtration while preventing layers of soil from mixing with each other.Ī geotextile plays an important role in protecting the drainage field once it is installed. The test shouldn’t be carried out during heavy rain, severe frost, or drought.įor more detailed advice about percolation tests, check out our “How to perform a percolation test” article. Repeat this test at least three times with at least two different holes.Drainage fields are only suitable if the resulting number is between 12 and 100.
#Septic tank and drain field layout full
Refill the hole with water the next day and time how long it takes for the water to seep away from 75% full to 25% full.Fill the hole with water and allow it to seep away overnight.Dig a 300mm square hole to a depth of 300mm below the proposed invert level of the drainage field.A percolation test can be conducted by taking the following steps: Percolation TestĪ percolation test ensures that the ground has sufficient drainage to handle the amount of water that will come from the drainage field. Don’t forget that the groundwater levels will be different at different times of the year, so be sure to take that into account. The groundwater table should not rise to within 1m of the invert level.
#Septic tank and drain field layout trial
You can do this by digging a 1m 2 trial hole to a depth of at least 1.5m below the invert level of the proposed drainage field pipework. The first step is to determine the position of the standing groundwater table. Other drainage fields or soakaways (including surface water soakaways)īecause the water from a soakaway filters directly into the ground, it’s important to establish that the ground can handle the additional water before installation begins.In general, drainage fields shouldn't be located under/near: This ensures both that the pipes cannot be warped or damaged by heavy loads above, such as vehicles or buildings, as well as making sure that the water from the soakaway won’t enter a watercourse, which is in contravention of new guidelines from the Environment Agency.
When installing a septic tank soakaway, it’s important to refer to Building Regulations Part H to ensure the installation meets the required standards, though we have summarised the points below. The design of a foul water drainage system means that blockages should not occur if the system has been installed properly. Design the septic tank soakaway to avoid blockages
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