In article , Sacha
wrote:

Stan The Man5/5/04 11:09
snip
I would be more than happy to ignore it if it were not accompanied by a
malfunctioning septic tank soakaway. If "grey" water isn't being
absorbed into the ground it could present a hazard so I need to fix it
one way or another -- and thought I might also try to fix the
worst-draining sections of the lawn at the same time. Another problem
is that the grass in the boggy areas of the lawn is growing at 100mph
at this time of year and I can't cut it until I can get a machine over
the surface. I tried strimming and the mess was intolerable - something
like the fan blades of an Everglades hovercraft.

Stan
Hate to say this, Stan but given the combined problems, I think you're
looking at a new septic tank/soakaway. I have no expert knowledge at all
but I would suggest not messing about with this too long because
Environmental Health can slap orders on you. Again - just my guess but I'd
be concerned that anything you do that doesn't deal with the problem in a
radical way will lead you to spend more money later along the line and even
involve you (perhaps) in legal issues with regard to polluting water courses
etc.

I bought this property 6 months ago and have already spent £1500 on
bringing the septic tank up to perfect working order. The problem is
not the tank itself but the soakaway, which I can't see and know
nothing about. Nor do I know how deep the clay cap is - although I will
be getting a test trench dug shortly to find out. If, as I suspect, the
clay is 3m thick, then no soakaway should ever have been built on top
of it - and no new soakaway is going to work for very long either,
unless I can perhaps combine it with an industrial bore hole to take
the grey water down below the clay cap. The only other alternative I
have been offered is a new private sewage plant costing well into 5
figures... which I simply don't have. Methinks there should be Govt
Grants for this kind of thing.

Stan