From January 2012 , you will have to comply with new legislation in Ireland if you have a septic tank or bio treatment unit. We have created a post that should answer most of your questions on these new septic tank regulations.
What is the New septic tank legislation
The new legislation has been put in place to help Ireland as a nation to alleviate the problem of poor ground water quality. Every day our government is being penalised by the European Commission until it takes steps to enforce the rules for ground water quality which have been laid down. The majority of rural homes in Ireland have their domestic sewage treatment needs met by a septic tank. If you live outside of an urban area the likelihood is that your waste water is sent to a septic tank.
What does it mean if I have a septic tank?
If you have a septic tank or a bio treatment unit, it means that from January 1st 2012 you will have to comply with new legislation. You will have to register your tank with your local County Council, you will then have to have an inspection carried out on the tank to ensure it is in good working order. If you have neglected to have your tank cleaned out on a regular basis (Recommendation is every 2 years for septic tank and 12 months for a bio unit), then it is expected that your tank is not working as efficiently as it should be.
How much does this cost?
The cost of registering your tank is €50.oo payable to your local County council. Further costs will be dependant on the results of the inspection carried out.
What happens then?
Once your tank is inspected, recommendations may then be made. If your septic tank has not been serviced on a regular basis or de-sludged then it is most likely that your domestic sewage is being handled by outdated technologies or is not performing as well as it could be.
Actions :
The following are a number of outcomes that may arise after inspection of your septic tank:
• No action. This will happen if you have a working septic tank that is serviced and waste water is disposed of effectively.
• Your septic tank needs to be de-sludged/empted . This will occur if your septic tank is working effectively but needs to be cleaned out and has not been for more than one year. (Book your septic tank clean here)
• Your percolation area needs to be replaced. This will happen when your percolation area has become ineffective and discharge waste is becoming visible on the surface of your garden.
• Your septic tank needs to be replaced. This will occur if you have a septic tank that is not working properly and is discharging waste water into the surrounding ground water.
What if I have further enquiries?
You should contact your local council for more details or you can phone our office and we should be able to assist you. Just mention that you are calling about the new Septic tank regulations so we can get our expert in that area to talk to you.
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Dear Sir/madam
I have a normal holding tank and all the waste water is pumped to my local treatment plant. Do you know if this will hold up to the councils tests?
Hi Bearach,
The way I am reading your question is you don’t have a septic tank or bio unit on site and you simply have a holding tank and all the effluent is pumped to the public sewer. If this is the case you have absolutely nothing to worry about. The legislation only applies to person(s) that have a domestic wastewater treatment system onsite.
If however you have a bio unit and you are treating the effluent and then pumping the treated water to the public sewer this is a different scenario. In this instance you should ensure that your bio unit is serviced regularly and you have kept a maintenance record outlining the dates you have had the tank cleaned out. Keep all the receipts as proof that a registered wastewater disposal company has completed the work.
I hope this information is of help.
tim
087-9903697
We had our septic tank emptied 18 months ago, and previously on a yearly basis. My question is in relation to the percolation area; the waste water goes through some sort of percolation area and then ends up trickling out of a pipe into an adjacent ditch. Is this acceptable? The house and (septic tank) was built in the ’60s, and we bought it 15 years ago.
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