A sewage treatment plant is a popular off mains drainage across the UK. For homes situated in more rural areas of the country, it is not uncommon for your home or business premises to utilise these systems.
The sewage treatment plant has risen in popularity over the past few years due to the newly enforced General Binding Rules in 2020. The rules state that wastewater must be treated before it is emitted into the local water system to avoid contamination and pollution. With a built-in wastewater filtration system, both domestic and commercial sewage treatment plants are a great way to remain compliant with these rules.
If your home or business runs on a sewage treatment plant, here are 3 ways to maximise its lifespan.
1. Be mindful what you put down your drain
Sewage treatment plants are built to handle some difficult drainage and are not as delicate as sewage systems have been in years gone by. However, this doesn’t mean you can stick anything down your drain without consequences, as sewage treatment plants can still become blocked.
Common culprits such as grease and oils, pet hair, sanitary products and kitchen roll will still cause issues with your drainage system. By being careful what goes into your drains, you can help to avoid nasty blockages which will not only have the potential to damage your plant but could also leave you with a hefty cost to resolve the issue.
You can see our full dos and don’ts checklist here for more details on what should and should not be going down your drains.
2. Undertake regular maintenance and servicing
Like most things in life, your sewage treatment plant will perform at its best if regular maintenance and servicing is undertaken.
CCTV drain surveys
These surveys utilise waterproof cameras which can bend and contort to your drainage system, allowing you to see exactly what is going on underground.
CCTV drain surveys are often used to diagnose issues once they have arisen and from here, the best course of remedial action can be decided. However, you can also have the surveys undertaken on a more regular basis. In doing so, you can spot small problems with your system before they become a large (and costly) mess later down the line.
High pressure jetting
High pressure jetting is an effective way to remove built up dirt and debris from your drainage system to help keep your system running smoothly. Much like CCTV drain surveys, having this service undertaken regularly can ensure emergency blockages don’t occur in the future. You can read more about the benefits of high pressure jetting in our blog here.
3. Don’t chop and change cleaners and washing powders often
You may not know this, but the cleaners and washing powers you put into your drains can actually damage your sewage treatment plant over time.
If you are consistently using cleaners with harsh chemicals in or changing your brand of cleaners often, it can have a negative impact on the chemical balance of your system. The bacteria levels in your sewage treatment plant are designed to cleanse the wastewater which runs through your system.
By constantly disrupting this, it could mean that the waste going through your system is not treated correctly and therefore wastewater entering the local environment from your sewage treatment plant is damaging.
This is also important when thinking of the General Binding Rules we mentioned earlier, as if your sewage treatment plant is not properly treating water you could be running a non-compliant system, resulting in fines.
Need expert advice?
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