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STELLING MINNIS PARISH COUNCIL

 

CESSPOOLS, SEPTIC TANKS AND MAIN DRAINAGE

 

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  List of contractors        Mains drainage     Emptying your cesspool or septic tank       Important information to read


Important - read this if you are not connected to mains drainage and do not have a sealed cesspool. You may wish to act by 1/1/2012. Note that since this was written and the article published in the September issue of the Hardres-Stelling News, the Government have put the mater on hold for a review – however the recommendation is still to Register, especially if you are contemplating moving soon.


If you are connected to mains drains or have a completely self contained cesspool then you do not need to read on.  For everybody else the following is a summary of a legal requirement for you to take action before 1st January 2012. Failure to do so could result in further action being taken by the Environment Agency.

 

If you are connected to mains drainage (such as most houses in Bossingham) this won't concern you. If you are not on mains drainage you will have to decide what kind of a system you have - Is it a cesspool or a septic tank? A proper cesspool is a sealed tank with no outflow and it has to be emptied regularly (too often some of you might say). A septic tank is in effect a mini sewage works. It should have two compartments and method for the waste water to drain away, usually into land drains in what is called a drainage or leaching field, or a soakaway. In the Stelling Minnis area they may drain into a bore hole which has been sunk to the underlying chalk bed because the land does allow sufficient drainage. The official guidance is that these should be emptied (desludged) twice a year. In practice they can work well and many people may not have had them emptied for years. There are also some which are in between and these are usually older brick cesspools (modern ones are usually fibre glass) which may have lost some bricks in the side - either accidentally with age or even on purpose (not done by yourself of course but some previous resident). In these cases the waste is still foul water and drains away into the ground. In practice this is illegal as are septic tanks draining directly onto the land or bore hole without an intermediate filter chamber. Septic tanks draining via a filter bed to a deep bore hole must also meet certain other criteria relating to distance from water extraction sources and ground conditions which prevent the more acceptable land drain (leaching fields) systems from being used – percolation tests have to be carried out to prove that the ground is unsuitable for land drainage.

 

Septic tanks and other sewage systems which drain into water courses bore holes or the ground, or multi user sewage systems are required to register with the Environment Agency before 1st January 2012. This is to comply with a 2008 EU directive regarding the control of pollution from non mains drainage effluent disposal systems. Septic tanks that discharge directly into the ground or a bore hole, i.e. not via filtration system, or systems which are not regularly emptied (desludged), will not be able to be registered and will require an environmental permit.

 

Rules and charges were introduced in the Irish Republic in 2010, and these are the main references that come up if you Google the subject.

The Environment Agency has now taken up the directive and hence the guidance notes (updated in July). They say that to establish the size of the problem they require all property owners with septic tanks to register them by 2012. There is no charge for registration and in most cases a permit will also be issued at the same time, both are at no cost.

 

In some circumstances where a registration cannot be accepted then the owner may have to apply for an environmental permit for which there may be a one off charge, which is currently £125 and it could involve a site inspection.  Examples of circumstances include if you have not had the tank emptied in the last six months or it is within a given distance of a drinking water extraction point.

 

There are other factors, which can affect the acceptance of registration such as the volume discharged and the number of residents. The rules also apply to business premises including farms.

 

If you are on the internet then a good starting point, identified by our Councillor Jeremy Speakman, is this web site:

 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/118753.aspx

 

This contains all the information, questions and answers and links to gather the information you need to register, including national grid map reference and a quick calculator for the volume of liquid discharged based on number of people in the premises (over or under 9 persons) and links to register you sewage system.

 

The system has been tried by our Clerk who reported back that the whole process of gathering the information and registering took about half an hour.  The registration document and permit to discharge were received by e-mail within a few minutes of completing the process.  The actual registration web page is not user friendly – just scroll to the bottom of the page after each step to complete the bit of the form for the next step.

 

If you are not on the internet then there is a manual option available via a link from the same web site – you will need to get a friend to download and print the form for you, go to the library and use the internet there or obtain a form by post from the environment agency Tel: 03708 506 506 (Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm)

 

A copy of the registration and permit must be filed with the deeds of the property and you should keep receipts as proof of regular emptying (desludging) and maintenance for 5 years.  Property sales could be held up for those properties where registration and a permit are required and they have not been obtained.

 

 

Cesspool/Septic tank Emptying Service - Options

 

The information given below is reproduced in good faith and was based on the best available.  Neither the Stelling Minnis Parish Council nor the Webmaster accept any liability for any inaccuracies.  The onus is on the user to verify charges and services with their selected contractor before entering into agreement or binding contract.

 

COMPANY

NOTES

SOUTHERN CESSPOOL SERVICES 

01233 646767 

37 Sandyhurst Lane

Ashford TN25 4NS

 

would give discount for 2x1000 gallon tanks if houses are in same area.

SUCKLIFTS 

01233 840624 

Unit 6

Pivington Mill Ind. Est.

Pluckley TN27 0PG

 

may give discount if 2/3 loads can be emptied  on one journey to Stelling Minnis

 

We now offer the following services: 

High Pressure Jetting

 Repairs & Servicing to Sewage Treatment Plants

 

D.  BODY

01622 631688

The Paddock

Detling Hill, Maidstone

 

discount for one journey to 2/3 houses

CLEANSING SERVICES GROUP Ltd.

01622 717717 or  0500 053 429

Mills Road

Quarrywood Ind. Est.

 

known as CSG

Probably the only company with a jetting service and could completely flush out a tank .    No discounts

 

SERCO

0800  0319091

Works & Services depot 

Kingsmead Road

Canterbury 

 

Canterbury City Council contractor. Willing to serve Stelling Minnis as a new service. Telephone switchboard & ask for cesspool service. At present only operates one tanker but might go to two if there is enough demand.

R & R Environmental Services

01233 820270.

 

 

 

                                                      

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MAINS DRAINAGE

 

One or two exceptions, which are connected to the Bossingham mains drainage scheme, e.g. Stelling Minnis Primary School, all properties have either septic tanks or cesspools.  A few properties, e.g. those on Minnis Green & Minnis Field, have a communal cesspool scheme.

 

The 2007 Village Appraisal included questions on the arrangements for emptying septic tanks/cesspools and sought to determine if there would be any interest in mains drainage.  Unless funding arrangements significantly change or the requirement on Southern Water compels then to provide it, then there is unlikely to be mains drainage provided to any other properties in Stelling Minnis.

 

 

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Page designed and produced for Stelling Minnis Parish Council by Nick Smith 14 May 2005

 updated 3 December 2011

 

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