Septic tank soakaway - How to beat my circumstances?

[pikey]

I hope someone can ease my cry for help?

I am in desperate need of advice in dealing with installing a system to replace a failed septic tank ( the soakaway - if there was one - does not work and water is flowing out of the top of the tank)

My house is aprox 400 years old with a block built septic tank of a very basic pipe-in and open top ( more like a pit untill I put a lid on it for safety). The land is very flat and surrounded by several drainage ditches. The soil type is clay with drainage being more of a runoff than soak away! Although there has been many years of mole-ploughing. The water table is controled by a weir in a large local ditch but generally maintains being about two foot.

The siting of the tank has to be in a particular area next to the excisting septic tank to create minimum fall required from house toilet etc. ( is this fall 1:80 if toilet flush connected or 1:40?)

This position has one drainage ditch which abuts my land draining the farmers field and is aprox 6 mtrs away from both new location of tank and house. There is another ditch 120 mtrs away to the bottom of my land and is dry. Could I excavate a straight line soakaway towards this latter ditch? I feel that this would also help drain the lower part of my land in winter, although also the adjacent field! Could I create a soakaway using the nearby ditch 6 mtrs away. The new site for the tank also has no obstructions to restrict excavation work on the west side 6mtrs to the ditch, 9mtrs on both the south and east side but none on the north side.

If anyone could provide even just a small piece of advice it would be warmly welcomed. As an addition I have only fields as nearby neighbours.

Regards Pikey boy.

[flowjoe]

Any septic tank is only as good as its outfall, if the ground water level is 600mm below surface level than your new bottle tank with an 1100mm outlet will just fill with ground water, what you need is a water tight system that cleans the waste sufficiently to discharge directly into the adjacent ditch.

You could try (falls allowing) dropping a bottle tank in front of your existing one, then convert the original into a filter system using washed stone/clinker, then take a solid outfall pipe through to the ditch, though to get past building control you might need to do this quietly and at night.

Or you could install a bio disc treatment plant that produces water at outfall that you can supposedly drink, I wouldn’t recommend it myself but hey at up to 3k a unit their should be some benefits (the manufacturers will work out what size tank you require dependant on number of inhabitants/bathrooms etc) and a price to suit.

If I were you and the existing tank is in a reasonable condition try the link below, these guys make the equivalent of a treatment plant that will fit within your existing tank, which produces water to a standard that will pass the environmental agencies requirements.

www.mantair.com

[pikey]

Thanks flowjoe . What a brill website this is. I didn`t think anyone would reply!

Anyway, I am checking out that website you recommended. I did not think you could get a small enough system to allow emptying directly into the ditch. I will wait for their reply and relevent price before I cancel my night pursuit and balaclava order.

Thanks for your help......regards... pikey boy.