Buying a house with a private drainage system
10/06/2010
By Erin Minchell-Bewick, Associate in Residential Conveyancing. Featured in Sevenoaks Chronicle.
In rural areas you might find that the house you wish to buy has a private drainage system.
There are three main types of drainage systems; the cesspool or cesspit, the septic tank or the package treatment plant.
Cesspools/pits are single tanks into which your household sewage will flow. Sewage is stored in the tank and will need to be emptied periodically.
The septic tank is a two tank system. Sewage passes into the first tank where it separates into liquid and solid form, the liquid passes into the second tank where it continues to decompose before passing into a reed bed or other land filtration system which allows the treated effluent to soak away harmlessly into the ground.
Package treatment plants are similar to a septic tank system but treats sewage to a much higher standard. The effluent from this type of system may be suitable to discharge into a watercourse (pond, stream, sea etc) .
Strict rules govern the discharge of effluent. In general terms if the discharge does not flow into an area which is a source of drinking water, has a volume of less than 2 cubic meters per day and is from a properly maintained system then you should not need to obtain permission for the discharge from the Environment Agency.
If effluent flows into a watercourse the Environment Agency may need to permit this discharge. From 6th April 2010 discharges of domestic effluent may be exempted from this requirement as long as certain conditions can be satisfied. The Environment Agency will have to certify the exemption.
Penalties for discharging effluent into watercourses can be severe; up to 3 months imprisonment or a £20,000 fine if you are convicted in a Magistrates Court or up to 6 months imprisonment and an unlimited fine if you are convicted in the Crown Court.
With penalties such as these, it makes sense for buyers to consult their solicitor for detailed advice before purchasing a property with a private drainage system.