Chiclanagir

We have a soakaway and it has been fine for years but the last month or so the ground around it has been "soggy". We have had quite a few visitors this summer which could account for it. Now someone told me that by breaking the seal to get it emptied you stop the soak away process and therefore it means you will have to get it emptied regularly. Visitors now all gone is it likely to "right itself"?

snikpoh

I've never heard of this. But, once you start emptying it, you certainly will need to have it emptied more regularly.

It really depends what you have. We have a large hole in the ground with soak-away. Over the years the soak-away has 'dried up' and now doesn't work at all. As a result, we have to have the thing emptied regularly. If you have a modern plastic tank with multiple chambers then it should be fixable.

Perhaps the best solution is to get a plumber in (or someone who deals with these on a regular basis) and have them make an assessment.

flotsum

We have a pozzy negro which is a large concrete cylinder filled with holes buried in the ground, is this the same as yours? Last year we had some problems with a blocked drain and had to have a plumber use a camera to find the problem, he checked the pozzy negro at the time and said it was quite full, he said the holes can become full/blocked when toliet paper does not breakdown as quickly ie when a lot more than usual is used or when you use the really quilted ones at which point the bottom holes cannot empty and the top ones to start having to do most of the draining, I wonder if this is why you have noticed soggy ground because it is not soaking away lower down? Maybe a camera to assess would be best before breaking into it.

discoman

There are several issues here.
A cesspit is just that----a pit that holds the "stuff" which may or may not have exit holes that make an attempt at draining it over time. Eventually such an arrangement will fill up and need emptying and that is a normal sequence. The addition of a drainage "field" - a gravel or similar surround - will aid the seepage but will eventually clog-up and trigger the sequence I have mentioned. Either way the soggy ground will be immediately over the problem area.

The second point to note is that a fossa septica is a different structure designed - through the presence of several chambers - to allow the breakdown of the "stuff" and allow the semi-cleansed "liquid" to flow out and disperse, usually and also, via a drainage field. With this latter system, there will always be a green or slightly soggy patch where the discharge occurs. That's normal. If the fossa septica is not over-used, they can go years (if not forever) without needing emptying. They are usually made of fibreglass and are, I believe, now mandatory for all new installations. Even so, a poorly constructed drainage filed may cause a fossa septica to get blocked and thus require emptying.

From your post, I assume we're talking about a cesspit (or a blocked fossa septica as described above) in which case it's most likely the cesspit lid - whatever that may be made of - is where a full-up chamber is leaking, causing the surrounding ground to be soggy. You'll have to dig down to find the lid, remove it (it's possibly rasillones with a mortar seal), empty it and then re-cover it with a new lid/seal.


EDIT I should point out that the cesspit mentioned by flotsum is a "luxury" type !!!!!! Most of the old ones around here in the campo are merely holes dug in the ground into which the sewage pipes are run and which are then back-filled with rubble. If you've got one of those, then there's no alternative but to replace it with a glass fibre chambered one when it ceases to work.

Chiclanagir

I think it is two chambers but made of concrete.

discoman

OK and where is the leak? Is it directly over the chambers?

flotsum

its nice to know I have one thing that is luxurious! I hope you manage to sort yours out.

Dxf

Hi

Most cesspits around here are simply holes in the ground, four walls and a ceiling. the floor is gravel (if you´re lucky), and many (illegally built) have no access point. Indeed I have only just had an acess point built as I wanted to put another pipe into the cesspit.

My "tank" is about three metres square and two metres deep - a "thirty man year" tank. I use very little toilet paper, using the bidet instead, so when we built the access point, there was no paper visible.

I am also lucky in that it is about five metres to the water table; not far away, in winter, the water table is less than a metre deep.

One other cause can be a leaking swimming pool; those which self fill automatically can be a problem and it may be wise if Chiclanagirl has an autofill, to turn it off and check if the swimming pool level remains constant.

Davexf

Chiclanagir

No to the side and DXF no autofill swimming pool and no leak.

lyric030250

Is there an aroma similar to Bangkok drains ? There is from mine particularly when the washing machine is in use. I have no 'soggy' ground though.

Countryboy1

Please don't scoff at my naivety, but when I moved into my new house some 11 years ago I never gave a single thought to the septic tank. Some months later I had a small blockage hear the kitchen sink which was easily fixed by a plumber. During the conversation with him he casually asked me "by the way where's your septic tank'. It was only at that moment I realised I must have one.......somewhere!
I've no idea where it is as when I was having the front terrace garden done (terrace part stone paved, the rest stones), the access cover to the pit must have been covered over. On reflection the person who did this should have noticed it I think.
I've seen the plans at the town hall and it's not shown anywhere and the building promoter only recalled it was somewhere at the front!
Fingers crossed I've never had a problem, but I keep thinking that at some point I should get someone in with a camera or something to trace & locate its position.
Yes, call me a bit stupid if not naive, but as a septic tank was a completely unknown concept to me and no one ever mentioned it to me I never gave it a thought!
Anyone used a company to find theirs? Or am the only one not to know where theirs is?

flotsum

Do you have any land to the side or in front of your house that belongs to you? Ours is a long way from the house slightly to the side of the front gate, three houses round here have just put second ones in when putting in showers and toilets by the pools, these were also all put a long way from the main build outside the walled area of the terraces or where you would have a terrace. When we asked where ours was we were told to ' look for the best tree in the garden and search nearby!' we found it by the apricot tree!

Domino

that shows some in depth knowledge, comparing with Bangkok drains.

and yes I have smelt them, the few there are as many people just do everything in the monsoon ditches which feed in the river.

Rotor

Washing machine water and other detergents (grey water) will kill the bacteria in your septic tank and consequently it will smell have to be emptied , we have a two chamber plastic septic tank at our cortijo and only "black water " goes in it, its never been emptied in 10 years and does not smell, grey water all goes down the barranco .

Domino

that is the problem with coming from the UK, in most instances electricity, water, gas, and any/all wastes generated are on mains services and you just don't have to worry about it. Unless you or a neighbour down the line have the bad habit of putting nappies down the pan.

Only a small part of Granada city has mains gas, when discussing with Spaniards they think it is a mad idea - thats what the butano is for !

but then when I bought my first house in 1973 the whole village had no mains gas, although the new houses being built on 3 estates were fitted for it. Took another 7 years before they installed mains gas.