Table of Contents
How do you make a natural soakaway?
To construct a basic stand alone soak away or one to use as a dispersal point for a French drain system where the water will gradually seep away into the surrounding soil. Dig a large hole in the ground, line the sides with heavy-duty landscaping fabric, to keep the earth from over time clogging up the gravel.
Can I build my own soakaway?
You’ll need to position your soakaway on soft turf in order for the excess water to drain – if you dig a hole onto a solid surface all you’ll be doing is building a hole that stores water until it overflows. You’ll need your soakway pit to be at least five metres from the external walls of your property.
How deep should a small soakaway be?
The depth depends upon the location – if it’s under the garden or patio etc. it only needs to be 1310mm deep, but if its under your driveway it should be 1510mm deep to allow for a little more top fill. If you don’t want to dig that deep, check out our shallow dig soakaway options.
Is there an alternative to a soakaway?
Septic tanks should be emptied once per year to avoid failure of the soakaway system. Package treatment plants are the modern alternative to septic tanks that produce a clear effluent suitable for discharge into a watercourse if one is available. The effluent is typically 20 times cleaner than that from a septic tank.
Do I need planning permission for a soakaway?
Do I need planning permission for a soakaway? If you are installing a replacement Soakaway then you will generally not require planning permission. If you are installing a new foul Soakaway or drainage field you should at least inform your local planning office.
How far should a soakaway be from a house?
2 – How Far Away From the House Must it be Located? The regulations state that a rainwater soakaway must be located at least five metres from the wall of a building and at least two and a half metres from a boundary.
Can you put a soakaway in clay?
A soakaway is basically a deep hole filled with rubble. To work, it must extend below the clay and be at least 1.8m deep. Dig a series of parallel trenches every 3-6m across the garden, sloping towards the ditch or soakaway. Digging in a 5cm layer of grit, gravel or crushed stone helps open up a clay soil.
Can a soakaway get blocked?
Can a soakaway get blocked? The main problem people experience with soakaways is that they can become blocked up with silt, leaves etc which have washed into the soakaway and can prevent the rain water being collected and percolated back into the soil.
Can washing machine water go into soakaway?
Washing machine waste water cannot be routed to a soakaway. The reasons must be obvious. Point 2. All water authorities insist that where a separate rain water drainage system exists, this cannot be used for washing machine waste water.
Can you put a soakaway under a drive?
As a general rule of thumb, if you’re able to install a soakaway for your driveway or roof rainwater then you should. You may be able to discharge the water into a sewer if no other alternative exists and you have permission from the water company who may charge a yearly fee.
What is the best stone for a soakaway?
Our Soakaway Gravel Stone 30 – 80mm is perfect for filling a soakaway for land and garden drainage. In addition to preventing waterlogging and sustaining the life of your garden, a soakaway will stop damp from seeping into the property from outside.
Do soakaways need maintenance?
Precautions for avoiding a Blocked Soakaway This may sound like an obvious statement to make but a correctly specified and installed soakaway constructed from modern crates should last for many years with the need for only a minimal amount of maintenance.
How do I find my soakaway?
The easiest way to find a soakaway is to follow the rainwater downpipes from your house and see how far they go. Often, the downpipes from your home will lead to a sunken area on your lawn. You need to be eagle-eyed, however, as soakaways are installed discreetly, so they can be hard to find.
How big must a soakaway be?
What Size Should My Soakaway Be? The most common size of soakaway for residential use is 1 Cubic Metre (1m³), as this is what most Local Authorities seem to specify. As a broad brush a Soakaway Size of 1m³ is sufficient to drain a roof area of approximately 50 square metres under normal conditions.
What do you fill a soakaway with?
A soakaway is simply a hole dug into the ground, filled with rubble and coarse stone which allows surface water to percolate back into the earth close to where it falls.
How effective are Soakaways?
A highly effective way of dealing with surface water; soakaways collect all surface water run-off into one point before allowing it to percolate in a controlled manner into the surrounding ground/earth in the area where it falls.
Can I use rubble in a soakaway?
Traditionally, the method of building a soakaway includes piling rubble into the hole and around the drainage pipe. Though this is an acceptable solution, there are a few benefits to using soakaway crates or boxes instead.
What do Soakaways look like?
They look like a series of perforated pipes laid in trenches in an area of land around your property, usually your garden or a field. The area around these pipes will then be covered over, usually with stones or gravel and turf, with the treated foul water being discharged into this land.
Can a neighbor drain water onto your property?
If “his water” is surface water, then it has no right of drainage. Neighbours can either choose to keep their water on their property, or allow it to pass along onto property at a lower elevation. However, once the water reaches a natural watercourse it must be allowed to continue to flow through all properties.
