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In 2015, there were changes to legislation in the drainage industry that specifically talked about septic tanks. Since then, it has been decided that this should be updated, and there should be new legislation coming into effect in 2020, which could mean big things for the industry. It is important that anybody who has a septic tank knows exactly what these changes are, and how they can impact what you currently know about septic tanks!
The 2015 Regulations
If you own a septic tank, then there is a whole range of requirements that you need to follow if you want to be within the lines of the law, and the 2015 regulations set these out for everyone to see. The 2015 rules are still in place, but they will be replaced with new ones starting in 2020. Right now, you have two options when it comes to discharging waste water from your septic tank, and these are using a soakaway system or drainage field which allows for the safe release of this water with no pollution. Or, it can go to a watercourse, which means the waste water will travel through a pipe into a river or stream somewhere nearby.
Another regulation currently in place is that you need to discharge your water 50m away from the closest drinking source to ensure that people are not drinking unclean water. Your septic tank will require annual maintenance to ensure it is still up to code, and any waste water that you are discharging to a watercourse cannot produce pollution, or you could be facing a fine.
The New Changes, January 2020
The biggest change that you need to know about is the fact that it is no longer going to be legal to discharge your waste water into a watercourse. The water that you are releasing is no longer classed as clean enough to flow through these bodies of water and has been known to be polluting the water. As such, as of January 1st 2020 if you still have one of these systems in your property, then you will not be adhering to the new regulations. What you should do is make sure that you have upgraded your septic tank system before this date to avoid getting into any kind of trouble.
As such, if you want to avoid getting into trouble, you should think about adding a drainage field to your property so that you can comply with the new regulations without issue. Or, you could just replace your septic tank and opt for a sewage treatment plant instead which will produce far cleaner waste water, meaning that it will be suitable to be released into a watercourse. By doing this, you will know that you are doing everything possible to avoid polluting the water, and your business or property will not be facing any kind of backlash as you will have adapted your system to adhere to the new set of regulations that are coming into effect.
You can read more about the changes here: https://dmsgroup.biz/septic-tank-regulations-2020/
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