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SOAK PIT

  • 04-04-2015 12:31AM
    #1
    bazbrady
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 257 ✭✭


    I currently have a mini bio septic tank which has all home water and storm water entering it.the system has caused issues since we bought the house a few years back and im now looking into draining the roof surface water into a soakaway soakpit instead of going into the mini bio.its a detached bungalow so a fairly large roof surface area.my question is whether I should go with the traditional method of drainage stone etc soakaway or use the new plastic aquacell from waving soakaway system.anybody have more success with either method.i will have to put in two separate soakaways for each side of the roof as if I had to put in one and join they would be going under the ground where we would extend the house in a few years time which I don't want.id be afraid the pipes under a floor could be an issue .So just wondering the best methods for a successful roof storm water soakaway.

    http://ie.wavin.com/master/master.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374305437770&middleTemplateName=oc_middle_research_sub_sub


Comments

  • #2
    Drift
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,395 ✭✭✭Drift


    Hi there,

    There's two parts to a soakaway:
    1. The volume of storage it has to attenuate water after a big rain shower. (Related to the size of your hole!)
    2. The rate at which the water drains away. (Related to the soil on your site.)

    Plastic media like aquacell are designed to have very large void areas compared to pea gravel or broken stone so the theory is you need to dig a smaller hole to provide the same amount of attenuation. You still need to make sure you have appropriate surface area to drain the water away.

    How is the drainage on your site? If it's poor then it's in your advantage to provide as much attenuation volume as possible to give the water time to soak away slowly after a large fall or rain and the aquacell will help this - however it's also in your advantage to have larger surface area to allow the water to soak away and this is better accomplished using long narrow trenches to which aquacell is not well suited. It's a balancing act.*

    The aquacell route will be more expensive, add to that the geotextiles required to protect it from getting clogged with clay and the danger of someone driving on top of it and you don't see it used in domestic situations very often. (NB: A traditional stone based soakaway can also get clogged without proper installation!)


    *There are tests that an engineer can do to measure the rate of soakage and a standard set of design calculations that can be used to size the volume of the pit/trenches vs the surface area. It's always better to get a professional design but very important if you have poor drainage or other related issues.


  • #3
    Dudda
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,541 ✭✭✭Dudda


    With new water charges and if you have the money you could also look into a grey water storage tank so rainwater could be used for flushing toilets etc. A large grey water tank can reduce the soakpit size required but as above calculations are required to determine the size, water requirements, roof size, etc. It's just another option to consider.


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