You’ll also need a drainage field or mound that is porous enough to allow the liquid effluent to discharge, something that’s determined by a ground percolation test.Īdvantages: Relatively low installation and running costs as they only require emptying (otherwise known as ‘desludging’) once or twice a year.ĭisadvantages: Only suitable if your ground is porous enough to allow the waste to percolate through because septic tanks can no longer be discharged into a watercourse under new laws. Most suitable for: A single house or a small development. ![]() The solids sink to the bottom, where some of the ‘sludge’ is broken down by natural bacteria, but the rest will need to be taken away by lorry, as with cesspools. The liquid effluent flows out of the tank and discharges to land, where it is cleaned as it percolates through the soil. Waste enters the first tank where gravity separates the liquids from the solids. Unlike a cesspool, septic tanks are multi-chambered and are able to treat and discharge the liquid part of the sewage. This means the solid matter in the tank will remain low, so you won’t need to empty it as frequently. Maintenance: Using cesspool treatments can help keep the bacteria that break down the waste healthy. Not only that but cesspools are banned in Scotland and thought of as a last resort in the rest of the UK. Cesspools require regular emptying which can cost up to £300 each time, and this may need to be done as many as eight times each year. A cesspool can be an option if the ground is unsuitable for waste to soak away.Īdvantages: Cesspools are generally the cheapest option, with both a low installation and maintenance cost.ĭisadvantages: The sewage inside a cesspool won’t be treated. Most suitable for: Sensitive sites and places that are close to drinking water supplies as all waste will be contained before being safely taken away. The tank can be vented to allow gas build-up to escape, but a septic tank is otherwise completely sealed. Waste simply flows into the cesspool to be stored and then, in six to eight weeks when the tank is full, a lorry will tanker it away for disposal. CesspoolsĪ cesspool (otherwise known as a cesspit) is essentially a sewage holding tank with no outlet and no facilities to treat the waste that goes in. But what do these three terms mean? Understanding the basic differences between the options available is the first step to getting just what you need. What’s the difference between a cesspool, a septic tank and a sewage treatment plant?īuilding regulations state that if you can’t connect to a public sewer, you’ll need either a cesspool, septic tank or sewage treatment plant instead.
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