Does a sewage treatment plant need a soakaway?
If you’re thinking about having a sewage treatment plant installed, you may be wondering whether you will also require a soakaway.
Sewage treatment plants and septic tanks are both used by residential and commercial properties throughout the UK to safely and efficiently process wastewater.
Sewage treatment plants and septic tanks allow properties to process their water independently from the public sewers.
Processing and recycling wastewater is not only environmentally friendly, it can also be cost-effective as it means no sewage bills.
If you decide to have a sewage treatment plant installed at your property rather than a septic tank, then you will not require a soakaway, let’s find out why.
What is a sewage treatment plant?
Here at OMDI, we design and install bespoke sewage treatment plants for both commercial and residential properties. Your treatment plant’s design will not only depend on your premise type and size, but also your usage and requirements.
Sewage treatment plants are comprised of several different tanks. First, wastewater enters a primary tank where the liquids and solids separate. The solids remain in this primary tank, whilst the liquids flow into the biozone chamber. The biozone chamber is aerated to encourage bacteria to naturally break down the organic matter and purify the water. The wastewater is now clean and safe to be released back into the environment.
What is a septic tank?
Septic tanks are large underground containers that collect the wastewater from a property. Within the tank, natural biological processes take place to separate the liquids and the solids in the wastewater. From here, the clarified water is released from the tank into a field to be treated by bacteria in the soil before being released back into the environment.
What is a soakaway?
A soakaway is a large hole dug into the ground and filled with coarse stones. Soakaways are used to manage excess surface water by collecting it, further treating and cleansing it, and then allowing it to slowly drain back into the environment in a controlled manner.
When is a soakaway required?
A soakaway is not usually needed with a sewage treatment plant, but it is required with a septic tank.
This is because the water released by a septic tank is primary treated effluent, meaning it has only gone through one stage of treatment. When it is released from the tank it is still foul smelling and hazardous to the environment.
Therefore, water from a septic tank will need to undergo further treatment and cleansing in a soakaway or drainage field before it can be safely released into the environment.
The water released from a sewage treatment plant, however, has been through at least two stages of treatment and is clean and safe to be released directly back into the environment.
Get in touch today for a free quote
To find out more about our sewage treatment plant and septic tank solutions, arrange a free, no obligation quote, or discuss your requirements with one of our experts, fill out our contact form or give us a call on 01977 800 418 and we’ll be happy to help.
