Septic Tank Failure

Tony123

Hello. I live in a row of terrace houses which share a septic tank. It's a very old tank and now needs urgent attention. It cannot be repaied so either needs to be replaced, or ideally we would be hooked up to the mains drainage system. 4 out of the 5 houses on the terrace agree in principle that this needs attending to, but 1 will not engage with us at all. We need them to agree, mainly as we would need access through their garden.

 We are now at risk of our waste not having anwhere to go, which would obviously not be good for any of the residents, nor the surrounding houses.

I don't know how to proceed, the 1 house just contiunes to ignore our attempts to contact them. I suspect they are concenred about the cost. Any advice would be appreciated

greyteam1959

Contact your local water authority would probably be the first thing to do.

Tony123

greyteam1959 said:

Contact your local water authority would probably be the first thing to do.

thanks. I did speak with them, and they are in priciple happy with us being connect to the mains. It's like than 20 foot of pipe to the nearest drain, but they wont get involved with the neighbour that wont engage - which I understand

ThisIsWeird

And contact Environmental Health at your LA - tell them there's a risk of overflowing raw sewage due to this person's intransigence.

Tony123

ThisIsWeird said:

And contact Environmental Health at your LA - tell them there's a risk of overflowing raw sewage due to this person's intransigence.

thank you for the reply. My LA keep directing me to the Environment Agency, who direct me back to the LA. Maddening!

ThisIsWeird

Do you, or any of your sensible neighbours, have Legal Protection included in their insurance? If so, get the wording in your deeds that obliges each homeowner to contribute to the maintenance/repair/replacement of the ST, and start applying pressure.
I guess.