On 16/08/18 19:45, Nightjar wrote:
On 16/08/2018 13:19, NY wrote:
...
I'm wondering because at some stage in the next decade or so we will
probably be selling my parents' holiday cottage which has a dual
chamber septic tank that was installed probably in the late 60s or
early 70s (certainly by 1975 when we bought the cottage). As far as I
know, all the properties have septic tanks and these drain into a
common "land drain" that also takes grey water and rainwater and I
think drains into a stream just beyond the village. I don't think it
goes into underground soakaway.

The EA rules prohibit a septic tank from discharging into an open
waterway. I am not sure whether that includes a common land drain that
eventually discharges into one. The addition of grey water and rainwater
may make it acceptable. You will probably have to ask the EA or water
authority for clarification.

Yes. The water boys have had the rule since at least 2002


Even a dry ditch that potentially used to feed a wartercourse is a nono.

This is not a new rule. What is new is that it is being enforced
retrospectively.

--
In a Time of Universal Deceit, Telling the Truth Is a Revolutionary Act.

- George Orwell