Septic tank worries from first time buyer

user1977

DullGreyGuy said:

user1977 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Living in Scotland sceptic tanks are much more common  

I find that difficult to believe. 

The first or second part? 

Ah, no, just a joke based on your typo. Sorry!

killiecat

Sorry it won't let me post links to website links or web addresses yet on the forums - I used to deal with septic tank enquiries in a past job & some of the issues folks were dealing with was quite eye opening.  Hope the information above may help

You want to ask your solicitor to check the property deeds to find out if there is any information relating to sewage provision for the property & if there is any agreements in place e.g. rights of access if any parts of the sewage treatment system are on third party land or if it is a treatment system shared with other properties .  If they have no maintenance records for the treatment system, you should consider getting the system inspected by a drainage engineer for any issues. 

The British water website has a list of accredited technicians for sewage treatment systems as well as other useful information on sizing , maintenance & operation of treatment systems etc.

You can also find lots of helpful information about septic tanks on the Netregs website:

• search under 'environmental topics/water/septic tanks' -  gives general advice on responsibilities & operation of septic tanks

• search under environmental topics/guidance for pollution prevention (GPP) documents' & look for 'GPP4: 'treatment and disposal of wastewater where there is no connection to the public foul sewer' -  this is a very good guidance document - see check list A&B pages 6-8 for guidance on waste water treatment options and responsibilities to consider if you are buying a property with private sewage treatment. 

There are also slight differences with regard to the legislation & authorisation requirements between Scotland, England & Wales.

If your in Scotland, you can check with Scottish Environment Protection Agency:

•  to find out if there may be any existing sewage authorisation for the property, ask them to undertake a septic tank check
•  if there isn't any authorisation in place, you can register the discharge online via their online application service.  Further information can be found on their website, if you search 'private sewage treatment registration guidance'

If your in England, i think the Environment Agency have a slightly different permitting system, mix of general binding rules and permits depending on the type of treatment system - further info on their website under 'permits for septic tanks'.

If your in Wales, you can find further information on the Natural Resource Wales website - search for septic tanks - It has a good section on the authorisation requirements for Wales as well as maintenance advice for sewage treatment systems etc.

DullGreyGuy

user1977 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

user1977 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Living in Scotland sceptic tanks are much more common  

I find that difficult to believe. 

The first or second part? 

Ah, no, just a joke based on your typo. Sorry!

Ah... you'll have no shortage of them if you follow my threads... fear its more dyslexia/bad spelling than typos. 

Recently keep meaning to say "know" but keep typing "now" a habit I'm trying to kick 

ThisIsWeird

Hi CountryCrib.
You have your dream home! Sounds wonderful.
Relax about the ST for the time being - it's a fait accompli - but continue doing your research. You know where it's located? What about where it discharges to? Does the land slope, is there a ditch anywhere, can you trace any pipes, do you see any vents coming up? See if this is shown on any of your paperwork.
And, presumably your neighbours have similar setups - can they guide you?
STs are old-school, yes, but can still work effectively. So, provided yours isn't actually polluting, then you are not going to be forced to upgrade to a TP. Worst case meanwhile - if it is 'polluting' - is that you need to have it emptied more regularly than wished, maybe a couple of times a year. Almost certainly that won't be the case. But find out as much as you can about it.
At some point you will very likely wish to either upgrade to a TP, or connect to the main sewer - is there any chance of the (ideal) latter? Any future proposals by your Water Board?
What do you know about your ST at present, especially where it ultimately discharges out to? Can you ID the location?

Do you have a mortgage on the property? Could this be extended £10k+ if required - I'd have thought your lender would consider this a significant upgrade. But, relax, you don't know what you have yet, or how well it works, and fair chance it needs nothing done to it for years.

(Regarding your vendor, if there is an issue with your ST, and it turns out that they were aware of the problem, then they should have disclosed this in the TA6 - an environmental matter likely to have a significant effect on the value of the property. Answering 'Not known' if they did know is not a get-out, if you can demonstrate otherwise. So, if the neighb tells you they had a surveyor out, for example, or the surveyor that you, yourself, contact tells you they've already been to that property - that sort of thing - then you can nail them. On that point - it might be worth calling up all the carp surveyors in your 'hood and asking if they've been out to your property :-) )

fourmarks

user1977 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

user1977 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Living in Scotland sceptic tanks are much more common  

I find that difficult to believe. 

The first or second part? 

Ah, no, just a joke based on your typo. Sorry!

Well, at least it made me laugh. 

countrycrib38

Bigphil1474 said:

If it was me, I'd calm down and see what the survey says. Does depend where the tank is, how good it was installed in the first place, how old it is etc.. It could well be a golden example of engineering at the time, or a beat up piece of crap that needs replacing. From what I've seen, you are looking in the region of £5k to replace it, depending on size, so you could just factor that cost in anyway. If it's an otherwise perfect house, I wouldn't want to lose it for the sake of where your doodoo goes.

Yes, I will certainly calm down, it is what it is and no need to worry myself needlessly , such fab advice from everyone so far!

sheramber

DullGreyGuy said:

Living in Scotland sceptic tanks are much more common and appreciate that the EA guidelines have changed since I worked for the water authority. 

Current guidelines are to empty it annually, our official advice (as a very uncommercial company) was empty it when its needed but every few years was sufficient for a well running tank. The process of emptying can be disruptive and at times customers complained that the process didnt work as well weeks after an emptying than it had been before. Some people hate the idea that their backgarden is full of their poo and get their tank emptied monthly. 

We used to sell a starter kit for tanks too but the recommendation was always that the better approach was to find some not fresh roadkill and drop that into the tank instead of paying us for the starter. Is cheaper and arguably better. 

There is no reason for them or you to empty it just because the house has been sold. 

I lived in a crofting area and my neighbour should dispose of
 dead sheep into his septic tank. 

fourmarks

sheramber said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Living in Scotland sceptic tanks are much more common and appreciate that the EA guidelines have changed since I worked for the water authority. 

Current guidelines are to empty it annually, our official advice (as a very uncommercial company) was empty it when its needed but every few years was sufficient for a well running tank. The process of emptying can be disruptive and at times customers complained that the process didnt work as well weeks after an emptying than it had been before. Some people hate the idea that their backgarden is full of their poo and get their tank emptied monthly. 

We used to sell a starter kit for tanks too but the recommendation was always that the better approach was to find some not fresh roadkill and drop that into the tank instead of paying us for the starter. Is cheaper and arguably better. 

There is no reason for them or you to empty it just because the house has been sold. 

I lived in a crofting area and my neighbour should dispose of
 dead sheep into his septic tank. 

I was going to have a lamb biryani for dinner tonight. Perhaps not now.

countrycrib38

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi CountryCrib.
You have your dream home! Sounds wonderful.
Relax about the ST for the time being - it's a fait accompli - but continue doing your research. You know where it's located? What about where it discharges to? Does the land slope, is there a ditch anywhere, can you trace any pipes, do you see any vents coming up? See if this is shown on any of your paperwork.
And, presumably your neighbours have similar setups - can they guide you?
STs are old-school, yes, but can still work effectively. So, provided yours isn't actually polluting, then you are not going to be forced to upgrade to a TP. Worst case meanwhile - if it is 'polluting' - is that you need to have it emptied more regularly than wished, maybe a couple of times a year. Almost certainly that won't be the case. But find out as much as you can about it.
At some point you will very likely wish to either upgrade to a TP, or connect to the main sewer - is there any chance of the (ideal) latter? Any future proposals by your Water Board?
What do you know about your ST at present, especially where it ultimately discharges out to? Can you ID the location?

Do you have a mortgage on the property? Could this be extended £10k+ if required - I'd have thought your lender would consider this a significant upgrade. But, relax, you don't know what you have yet, or how well it works, and fair chance it needs nothing done to it for years.

(Regarding your vendor, if there is an issue with your ST, and it turns out that they were aware of the problem, then they should have disclosed this in the TA6 - an environmental matter likely to have a significant effect on the value of the property. Answering 'Not known' if they did know is not a get-out, if you can demonstrate otherwise. So, if the neighb tells you they had a surveyor out, for example, or the surveyor that you, yourself, contact tells you they've already been to that property - that sort of thing - then you can nail them. On that point - it might be worth calling up all the carp surveyors in your 'hood and asking if they've been out to your property :-) )

Thank you for all your info! Helps masses. The owners are getting it emptied and then I’ll get a survey/inspection. Mean while I’ll emphasis the info I need my solicitor to obtain. 

LHW99

We lived with one for twenty years. Used to get it emptied every 12-18 months, put some enzymes down (you can get tubs or tablets) and didn't have trouble or smells. Only a couple of repairs on the drains themselves which weren't a big deal.

We were well away from any mains drainage (or water) so it was a good laugh when S-T water sent a letter to say they would be cutting the water off for a day - they could try, but the source spring wasn't having any of it.