Replacement
Septic tank replacement in Suffolk
Old brick and concrete tanks crack, leak and often discharge somewhere they should not. We replace them with a system that works and complies, and we handle the whole job from survey to sign-off.
Signs your septic tank needs replacing
- It discharges straight into a ditch, stream or river.
- Cracks in the tank walls or pipes, or ground that stays wet over the tank.
- Sewage smells near the tank or the outlet.
- Slow drains or backing up soon after the tank has been emptied.
- A buyer's survey has flagged the drainage.
Your options
If the outflow goes to a watercourse, there are three routes in the official guidance. Connecting to a mains sewer, if one is close enough. Installing a drainage field so the septic tank discharges to the ground. Or replacing the septic tank with a sewage treatment plant.
On Suffolk clay, a drainage field often fails a percolation test, which is why replacement with a treatment plant is the most common outcome.
What is included
- Survey and discharge tracing
- System design and sizing
- Building control notification
- Emptying and removal or backfill of the old tank
- Excavation and spoil removal
- New plant, pipework and outlet
- Electrical connection for the blower
- Commissioning and paperwork
Replacement questions
Can my existing septic tank be converted instead of replaced?
Under the general binding rules, conversion units fitted inside an existing septic tank are only acceptable for discharge to a watercourse if they were installed before 2007. For most owners today the options are a new treatment plant or a drainage field.
What happens to the old tank?
It is emptied by a licensed tanker, then either removed or broken and backfilled so it cannot collapse. Which option suits depends on where it is and what is planned for the space.
Is there a deadline?
The deadline for existing tanks discharging to a watercourse passed in January 2020. If yours still does, the official guidance says to put it right as soon as possible, and it must be dealt with when the property is sold.