[Glentarki]

Hi folks looking to pick your brains here we are in the throws of laying drainage pipes………Situated on top of a glen all our garden ground slopes away from our house down to the  barn and then continues to slope away across our paddocks.

We have a problem with a build up of water around the barn and yard area….. its so bad that the tractor has made 2.5 feet trenches despite the lay of the land being so steep!……We have only been here since December and still finding our feet when it comes to drains, but we suspect a lot of the problem is the water run off from the house and poor soakaway drains yet to be discovered!

Our drainage ditches are all now complete and the appropriate drainage pipes in place…. and 30 ton of stone chips coming on Monday………..Intensions are to continue the drainage pipe into our field….dig a pit and fill with local stone that we already have laying around the place  …..Any ideas how deep we should dig down to create a reasonable soakaway ….We have the machinery to do it.

Many Thanks in advance
Dave

[doganjo]

When I built my house, and assisted in laying the drains, we dug (with a digger) to a depth of about 6 feet for the soakaway from the septic tank.  But we didn't have a big fall to contend with, just the normal slight slope for drains.  I wonder if you need area as well as depth if it's that wet.  We covered it over once the pipes were in, and put down new grass seed.

[garden cottage]

when ours was done trenches were min 1.0m deep, once pipe and chippings go in it was all covered in material to stop muck being washed into stone. most important thing is the pit at the end, you must dig down thro all the clay and soil until ideally you find a stony base that water can penetrate thro, if all you have is clay it will just back up the water and clog up. you may have to go down serious depth for this even a jcb with extending arm may be required.................good luck

[robert waddell]

you will know if it is soakaway water (it smells like a sewer)
all you are doing by digging a pit is creating another problem
run your pipes to the nearest burn or ditch
soakaways dont work unless in sandy soil

[doganjo]

It is illegal in Scotland to run soakaway water to a watercourse from a septic tank

[robert waddell]

what you need is consent to discharge (from sepa) and i cant be bothered to copy/find and paste all that i require to do to enlighten all on here on previous consents that do not work and how totaly useless sepa are once they have granted a consent to discharge

[Glentarki]

Hi folks thanks for all your reply’s as usual very informative……Just to clarify we have a new septic along with a soakaway well away from this area. The issue is with the rain run off from the roof and steep garden especially when all the snow thawed it just seems to hit the barn and yard area. We have now dug the ditches to a depth of 2 meters to the rear of the barn and yard area, laid drainage pipes and in filled with large stone chips and rock….We have no drainage ditches either side of our land and for some reason after having a scout about nobody up hear has them (strange), I’m not sure legally if we could run open ditches to the side of our land down to the neighbours fence then stop? Hence no alterative to head out into the field a good distance to allow the rainwater to soak away….I think were just have to dig as far down as we can and see how it goes at least we do have access to the machinery if we need to modify it.

Thanks All
Dave

[robert waddell]

you could be lucky and have free draining land or the sourounding land is well drained
ask your neighbours about drainage. improving land drainage is a bit of a mine field the land drainage act (Scotland) tells you in more detail your rights and your neighbours rights

[doganjo]

My apologies for the error, Lilian or OH - the information my architect, local Building Inspector, SEPA, Scottish Water, and DEFRA all gave me when I built my house in 2005 was that it was totally illegal - however I have found this information today on Yahoo -

"Consent to Discharge
If there’s a watercourse nearby you may be able to discharge treated effluent, but you must first obtain a Consent to Discharge. In England and Wales this is granted by the Environment Agency (0870 850 6506) — the application charge is £124. In Northern Ireland, through the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Rivers Agency (riversagencyni.gov.uk), the application charge is £110. In Scotland the online fee is £76 with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (sepa.org.uk). "

This may be an out of date site however so the prices may have gone up.

[Diggerjohn]

Hi doganjo,
The 'treated effluent' is only from full sewage treatment plants. Septic tank effluent is still not allowed to discharge into ditches or burns so you were right first time.

The building regulations in regard to rainwater soakaways can be found online at http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/buildingcontrol/approved-document-h-2006.pdf Start reading on page 39.

[doganjo]

Hi doganjo,
The 'treated effluent' is only from full sewage treatment plants. Septic tank effluent is still not allowed to discharge into ditches or burns so you were right first time.

The building regulations in regard to rainwater soakaways can be found online at http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/buildingcontrol/approved-document-h-2006.pdf Start reading on page 39.

Thanks, DiggerJohn, I was fairly sure as I could trust all my workmen and advisers.  I built my house by myself, and needed their expert knowledge being a mere woman and a retired one at that!

[Glentarki]

Just a wee update but firstly thanks for all your posts its much appreciated….Anyhow job now done!….Fortunately we didn’t have to go far into the adjoining field when around 5ft we struck rock and loads of it……..Some of the boulders taken out were huge!!

What we did discover on the way was a huge pit full of years worth of wood chip and dung no doubt from the barn grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!……Like a sponge wood chips absorb but without air they are slow to rot down hence part of our problem!…..I shouldn’t say this but I’m waiting for rain now to see how it goes,I will regret saying that
Thanks Folks

Cheers
Dave