Rules for both existing and new septic tank discharges in England
Septic tanks settle the solids in the sewage and then discharge the liquid septic effluent to ground via a correctly designed and constructed drainage field – NOT to a soakaway pit, soakaway creates or Ezy Drain. These are not allowed for sewage effluent disposal.
They cannot discharge into ditches, streams, canals, rives, surface water drains or any other type of watercourse. Under the new Environment Agency General Binding Rules, if you have a septic tank that discharges directly to a surface water (ditch, stream, river) etc. you must replace or upgrade your septic tank treatment system to a full sewage treatment plant by 1 January 2020, or when you sell your property, if it is before that date.
Once upon a time, you could ‘discharge’ the separated waste water from within the septic tank through one of two ways:
- To a drainage field or soakaway system – here, the waste water percolates through holes or slots into the pipework, into the surrounding sub-soils. This provides a form of treatment of the water, and it allows the waste water to disperse safely without causing a pollution.
- To a watercourse – the waste water would flow through a sealed pipe straight to a local watercourse such as a stream or a river.