On 15/08/2018 12:26, Nightjar wrote:
On 15/08/2018 12:03, wrote:
Sorry to be a pain but I was talkingÂ* to someone this moring who said
that the EU ( them again!) were changing the rules on Septic Tanks.

Not the EU, but our own Environment Agency, so Brexit won't stop the
rules coming into effect from 2020.

I couldnt get out of him what changes exactly but he left me with the
impression ( worryingly) that my septic tank is now illegalÂ* but didnt
explain how or whay that could be .

HowÂ* can they retrospectively legislate for speptic tanks installed
60+ years ago?

That exempts you from the need for your tank to meet any British
Standard, but the EA can still make rules about discharges from the tank.

Apparently it will stop me ever selling my house ( not that I plan
selling it) because I dont have something called a bio drainage system
( a load of reeds stuck in a bed??? ).

Does anyone know about this and can they explain it properly for me
please?

Essentially, if your existing septic tank discharges to a waterway, you
have to upgrade it before 1st January 2020, or when you sell your house,
whichever is the sooner. You can either replace it with a sewage
treatment plant, the outflow from which is clean enough to be discharged
into a waterway, or run the outlet from your existing tank to drainage
field. The latter has to comply with current British Standards, so it is
something you need to get a specialist company in to do.


There is an important item that hasn't been quoted:
"Your treatment system must meet the relevant British Standard which was
in force at the time of installation. The standards currently in force
for new systems a"
....
"BS 6297:2007 for drainage fields"
....

"*If there were no British Standards in place when your treatment system
was installed (that is before 1983) you do not need to do anything else
to meet this requirement*."

.... bottom line: if you do not discharge to a water course and have a
drainage field that was installed before 1983 then the new rules are not
relevant to you. Don't waste time or money, keep your head down and
remember to get the tank pumped-out regularly so that the drainage field
doesn't get blocked.