Waste Water treatment system

A

alandd

Guest
Just a quick Question,
In order to get Planning permission I had to obtain a Site assessment report from a waste water treatment system.

Do the Waste water treatment companies sell the same systems i.e. do i need to purchase the system off the people who provided off the report?

The system in question is the Biotec IPS

Thanks in Advance
Alan
 
waste

I am not sure about the legal situation .In your case it would be the report of an civil /environmental engineer that you have to show.It would not matter who has written it, but I suppose that he/she has to be a member of some recognised organisation-whatever that is good for.
 
Re

Hi Alandd,

I am an environmental engineer working for an environmetnal engineering consultancy. If you are looking for someone to carry out a site assessment for your site and recommend various treatment systems, we would be happy to provide you with a quote or answer any general questions you may have.

Kind Regards,

Niall Mitchell


Komex Environmental Ltd
Ground Floor,
32 Manor Street,
Dublin 7

Tel: 01 8245000
 
planning

Alandd,

Our architect organised this for us (as it is part of his service) - I would'nt bother take on an engineer. Get advise from your architect before you decide to pay for an engineer.
 
Hello Alanndd,
I also had to get a site assessment and percolation test carried out.
If you organise this through a company offering a waste treatment system, they will undoubtedly push you to use their system, but you are not required to do so. They may offer a refund or discount on the test fee if you do of couse (always worth bargaining for anyway).
Each system has different requirements for percolation layout or area for distributing the treated waste liquid. So choosing a different system in the end may require you to recalc the percolation area, but the company you select should do this if you mention it before purchasing from them.
Your own engineer can do this independently also and as mentioned rejig the prec area later.
The local planners are interested in drainage suitability of the ground and whether you have a suitable area to build the percolation bed, while meeting all the requirements for minimum distance from houses, wells, roads etc.
 
Alandd

Like the others above, my architect was happy to carry out this as part of his contract with us. Let him earn his money & don't pay out twice for the same thing.
good luck
 
There's nothing to stop you performing the percolation test and site assesment yourself if you are of that disposition.

The percolation test consists of digging 4 holes in your proposed percolation area, about 300x300x450mm deep. You fill them up with water then measure the time taken for the water level to drop an appreciable amount.

In addition, a test hole is dug in the general area to assess site characteristics such as type of soil and depth of water table (if any). This hole should be 2m deep x 1500mm square. You have it dug when the digger is on the site, cover it up and inspect it 24 hrs later and measure the depth of water in it (if any) -- this tells you where your water table is.

Better to do this in the wet season than the dry season for more accurate results. Usually the septic tank company, if you ask them nicely, will give you a worksheet and instructions for completing this site assesment.

You will have to provide a digger to do this, although the test holes can be dug by hand (it can be surprisingly hard work to dig even the small test holes so if you're not up to this then perhaps the engineer is the better option).

I'm all for employing the experts to do this kind or work but sometimes it's better to do it yourself. If you have unsatisfactory percolation results you might dig fresh holes somewhere else on the site, for example -- something your engineer definitely will NOT do on the day.

Good luck.
 
Just so you know

It is not uncommon for an architect to offer a wastewater treatment analysis - percolation tests & report of planning purposes.

Then for your architect to engage the services of an engineer and ask him to do it at a lower price - charge you the higher fee from his own account. Pay the engineer himself.

Shop around is my only advice.

FYI, there is no laws governing the title "Architect" in Ireland, the title does not require them to carry any professional qualifications. There is regarding engineers.
 
There is regarding engineers.

Its not as bad here as in the UK where every tuppence hapenny can call himself an engineer. Stictly speaking the only Engineering title that is protected is that of "Chartered Engineer" controlled by the Institution of Engineers in Ireland.

ajapale
 
Point taken

I won't get into the whole Architect vs Engineer debate again. Get it enough on the job ;-)
 
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