Reedbed Consultant | Melvyn Rutter
07592 160854

Does a Septic tank need a Reedbed

Waste water treatment using septic tanks only is no longer permissible.

Waste water treatment using septic tanks only is no longer permissible.

A number of people have found this out when selling their homes. They come across the requirement to upgrade their waste water treatment, just at the stressful time of selling or buying a home.

This requirement has seen many scrambling for answers, since they face either the seller reducing the price accordingly, or the buyer facing an increase in price for their home.

When Mr Google list the following :-

If you require a complete setup including a primary septic tank or package treatment plant, excavation, and professional installation, total costs generally range from £7,000 to £12,000+ depending on site access and size. [1]

This can cause a crisis.

Yes, outflows need to be and can be improved. But the price could be less than £3000 if they ( buyer / seller ) have a reedbed consultant to help them build a reedbed system.

Reedbeds are highly effective, long lasting, and low cost solutions. There should be no standing water and therefore no smell. A 10m2 vertical flow reedbed, plus 10m2 living soakaway can effectively treat up to 6 people, and can take 1 day to build.

Reedbeds, like treatment tank systems, can grow the bacteria to be in full working order within 3 months of completion. Completion always sees clean and clear outflows straight away. Although chemically the 99% reduction in Ammonia, Nitrates, Phosphates, BOD and Suspended solids, does take 12 weeks to achieve. As indeed all other treatment systems, that use the very same bacterial breakdown of biological components in aerobic conditions.

So don’t panic. We can find the answer, and it doesn’t have to cost the earth. You don’t suddenly have to become a waste water technician overnight. Internet search info is a poor way to get good information

Below are the Septic Tank Environment Agency Regulations uk

https://www.gov.uk/

1. Home
2. Environment and countryside
3. Waste management

Discharges to surface water and groundwater

You may need an environmental permit if you discharge liquid effluent or waste water:

  • into surface waters, for example, rivers, streams, estuaries, lakes, canals or coastal waters – known as ‘water discharge activities’
  • into or on the ground, such as spreading waste sheep dip, or discharging treated
    sewage effluent to ground through an infiltration system – known as ‘groundwater activities’

Waste water includes:

  • poisonous, noxious or polluting matter
  • polluting substances
  • waste matter
  • trade or sewage effluent

If your water discharge or groundwater discharge is part of a waste operation, installation or mining waste operation, you can make the discharge part of your installation permit or waste or mining waste permit.

Overview

You are responsible for (the ‘operator’ of) a septic tank or sewage treatment plant if:

  • you own the property that uses the system
  • your property shares the system with other properties (you are jointly responsible)
  • you have an agreement with the owner of the property that you are responsible for the system, for example you’re renting and it’s in your tenancy agreement

If you connect your sewage system to the mains sewer (also called a ‘public foul sewer’) you do not need to do anything else and will not need a permit.

Your septic tank or treatment plant will treat your sewage and release liquid (‘sewage discharge’) into the environment. What you must do depends on:

  • whether the sewage discharge goes into the ground or into surface water
  • if the treatment system was installed or was changed significantly before 2 October 2023 (an ‘existing discharge’)
  • if the treatment system was installed or has changed significantly since 2 October 2023 (a ‘new discharge’)

There are different rules if you have a cesspool.

There are different rules for septic tanks and treatment plants in Northern Ireland, in Scotland, and in Wales.

Sewage discharges

A sewage discharge is where you release sewage to either:

  • the ground (for example in your back garden)
  • surface water (for example a river, stream, estuary, lake, canal or coastal water)

New discharges are ones that started or changed significantly since 2 October 2023. Check what counts as a new discharge and what to do if you have one.

Existing discharges are from systems installed before 2 October 2023 that have not changed significantly since then. Check what counts as an existing discharge and what to do if you have one.

Your property has an existing discharge

There are things you must do if your property has an existing discharge where you release sewage to the ground or to surface water.

You have an existing discharge if it started before 2 October 2023 and all of the following apply:

  • it has not changed in discharge type (from ground to surface water, or the other way around)
  • it has not been moved more than 10 metres from the original location
  • the discharge has not increased in volume since 2 October 2023
  • if the discharge has increased it is still less than 2 cubic metres (2,000 litres) a day if it goes to ground or less than 5 cubic metres (5,000 litres) a day if it goes to surface water

Check if you meet the general binding rules

If you already have a septic tank or sewage treatment plant

If you do not meet the general binding rules

If your sewage treatment system does not meet the general binding rules, you must either:

If you cannot do either of these things, you must apply for a permit.