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Do we really need to replace our 50 year-old Septic Tank?
ashleyDsycqeeb
Posts: 3
Hi all,
We have recently moved to a 5 bedroom property with a Septic Tank we believe would have been installed some 50 years ago. It is a concrete tank with 3 soakaways going into a drainage field (our back garden lawn). The garden is heavily landscaped, with many trees and shrubs which have grown mature over the years.
We were aware before moving that the septic tank showed signs of backing up. We have since had a company have a look at the system and they believe that the likely cause is that the perforated soakaways have been blocked by tree/shrub roots over the years, and they have recommended we replace the entire system with a treatment plant (we have a ditch which can be used for discharge).
Obviously, that recommendation comes with a big price tag, probably around the £10,000+ mark (is this unreasonable by the way?).
We are trying to establish if a replacement is actually needed, or whether we can salvage a seemingly indestructible tank that has served well over 50 years! I'm also conscious that nobody knows for certain that it is the roots which are causing the system to fail, so it feels like we need to explore all options before just accepting it needs to be replaced. We have even considered ways to reduce the amount of grey water sent to the tank (see question 3 below).
I'm hoping I can get some advice here and learn a bit more about private drainage systems since this is our first property with one!
1. Could there be a blockage other than the roots? I've seen some septic tank unblocker products on the market but skeptical as to whether they actually work or not. Although, it feels worth the £20 price tag to just give it a go rather than a £10,000 new system!
2. Are there any other options we can explore other before completely replacing the system?
3. We have our grey water from the shower, bath and toilet basin directing out into some shrubs nearby the property. This was inherited by the previous owner and we're unsure whether this is actually legal? Is it a recommended way to slow down the amount of grey water sent to the septic tank? I suspect that this system was in place for that specific reason, as odd as it seems to us!
We have recently moved to a 5 bedroom property with a Septic Tank we believe would have been installed some 50 years ago. It is a concrete tank with 3 soakaways going into a drainage field (our back garden lawn). The garden is heavily landscaped, with many trees and shrubs which have grown mature over the years.
We were aware before moving that the septic tank showed signs of backing up. We have since had a company have a look at the system and they believe that the likely cause is that the perforated soakaways have been blocked by tree/shrub roots over the years, and they have recommended we replace the entire system with a treatment plant (we have a ditch which can be used for discharge).
Obviously, that recommendation comes with a big price tag, probably around the £10,000+ mark (is this unreasonable by the way?).
We are trying to establish if a replacement is actually needed, or whether we can salvage a seemingly indestructible tank that has served well over 50 years! I'm also conscious that nobody knows for certain that it is the roots which are causing the system to fail, so it feels like we need to explore all options before just accepting it needs to be replaced. We have even considered ways to reduce the amount of grey water sent to the tank (see question 3 below).
I'm hoping I can get some advice here and learn a bit more about private drainage systems since this is our first property with one!
1. Could there be a blockage other than the roots? I've seen some septic tank unblocker products on the market but skeptical as to whether they actually work or not. Although, it feels worth the £20 price tag to just give it a go rather than a £10,000 new system!
2. Are there any other options we can explore other before completely replacing the system?
3. We have our grey water from the shower, bath and toilet basin directing out into some shrubs nearby the property. This was inherited by the previous owner and we're unsure whether this is actually legal? Is it a recommended way to slow down the amount of grey water sent to the septic tank? I suspect that this system was in place for that specific reason, as odd as it seems to us!
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Posts
I don't know whether a film of your drains might help to see what's going on down there ... ? 🤔
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I am reminded here of a friend who had a drains blockage and he was sent by the plumber to look down the inspection chamber and to call out when ‘movement’ was detected. “Yes,” he shouted so all the neighbours heard, “that’s one of my wife’s. I recognise the shape.”
PS Google ‘drainage engineers’ and many of the initial replies are from companies who sub-contract to local firms and charge a very hefty premium for connecting you with them. Ignore firms offering nationwide coverage and with 0800 numbers and look for a local firm with a local phone number.
https://chartsedge.co.uk/septic-tank-regulations-2020/#:~:text=Under the new rules, if,it's prior to this date. See yellow highlights.
It could well be tree roots and if it turns out to be that, it may be possible to excavate and reinstall just that. It could also be that not enough water is being flushed through the system because of the grey water diversion - what is going through there will be rather, er, concentrated!
Have you has it emptied recently? A septic tank cleaning company will, as well as empty it, flush through the entire system with high-pressure water including from the tank to the drainage field. The latter should detect if there is any problem there as immediate back-flow would be experienced.
Don't know what will happen when we leave here, but I’m sure someone will want money for upgrades, same with everything. It’s the age of chuck it all out and buy new.
Last year we had problems here and OH dug down to the drainage pipes and found the roots from a big old fig tree had infiltrated the pipes. He removed the tree and roots and put in new pipes on the drainage gravel, all is well now! But it was very hard work!
From what we have been told, our garden does not meet the newer regulations for a drainage field (even though we already have a drainage field...I guess it is probably allowed because it's an older system?). So they are not able to dig up our old drainage field and install a new one apparently.
This is very true!!!
Yep that seems to be the case, but I wonder if it means no companies want to do the repair work on older systems? Certainly seems to be the case with the company we're talking with. They don't seem to want to touch it unless it's completely replaced.
It certain does sound like hard work! If I'm being honest I can't see myself attempting to do this, especially given the amount of trees/shrubs we have around our garden and not knowing exactly where the pipes are
When the chap came to empty ours he said they were the best type you can get.