fbpx Moody Sewage Ltd Moody Sewage Logo Moody Sewage Logo Pound Hill,
Pound Lane, Framfield,
TN22 5RR Uckfield,
info@moodysewage.com 01825890294 ££ 5 4.8 42

Private sewage management solution at a multiple occupancy dwelling near Haywards Heath

Background

Moody Sewage were approached by the owners of a large multiple dwelling property near Haywards Heath in order to ascertain the feasibility of reusing the existing sewage facilities to serve multiple occupancy dwelling as well as new properties which were to be constructed.

As with all investigations Moody Sewage started with a Feasibility Study to gather a full understanding of the current methods of managing the sewage, the available assets, the amount of pipework installed, its condition and any location of any existing sewage discharges into the surrounding watercourses.

The Property

The property comprised of a total of 38 varying residential establishments ranging from a large number of 1 and 2 bedroom properties, some 3 bedroom properties and a 4 bedroom property.

Using population equivalent flows and British waterways recommended flow and loadings, a total working amount of sewage calculated to approximately 29,000 litres containing 11,000 grams of BOD.

Existing Facilties

The existing facilities were serviced by Moody Sewage on a weekly basis some 15 years ago when the property was being used as a retirement home. The facilities comprised of a 14,000 litre primary settlement tank which was brick built and rendered on the inside.

existing sewage facilities
Polaroid Frame
Existing Facilities
existing sewage tank Haywards Heath
Polaroid Frame
Inside the Tank

The settled sewage from the primary tank passed across and onto a traditional contact biological clinker bed. There was approximately 5 cubic meters of clinker within the system which was dosed using a 4 armed Monojet dosing distribution system together with a tipper tray to periodically tip, passing the sewage over the media.

The settled sewage flowed through the filter and discharged into a humus tank of approximately 1,400 litres. The system was also retrofitted with recirculation with operated all of the time so that sewage had multiple passes through the biological filter mainly at night and through periods of low flow.

The final effluent was discharged into a tributary of the river Ouse.

Find out more about our services
existing sewage tank Haywards Heath
Polaroid Frame
discharge to river ouse
Polaroid Frame

Existing system problems

The fundamental issue with the existing system is that it had fallen into a state of poor repair with crumbling brickworks and a collapsing biological filter. The discharge pipe passing across the field to the tributary of the River Ouse was constructed from pitch fibre, a pipe commonly used in the 1970s as a more economical alternative to clay, had partially collapsed and could not be used.

Finally the calculations determine that the final biological performance of the system would not suit anywhere near the projected population equivalent flows for this site and therefore any overhaul of the system would not be included within any possible options for the management of the sewage.

Design

The environmental checks carried out by Moody Sewage confirmed that it would be possible to discharge into the nearby stream with treated effluent of a standard quality based on 20 milligrams per litre Biochemical Oxygen Demand and 30 grams per litre suspended solids.

A historical permit for the site was in place however due to the fact that it would not be possible top get this permit transferred across into the new owners name, a full new permit application was submitted to the environment agency and duly granted.

The study concluded that it would be possible to treat sewage in 3 potential ways:

  1. A large Klargester Biodisc located in the field to take the sewage from the premises before discharging across and into the nearby ditch.
  2. A Bespoke activated sludge sewage treatment operating on a sequential batch reactor basis before discharging across and into the same point.
  3. To install a new 30,000 litre primary tank followed by 2, 550 square metre horizontal flow reed beds.
Find out more about our services

Solution

Taking all into consideration option 2 was selected because:

  1. The solution fitted within the economical budgets of the development.
  2. The solution would be more robust than the others as the maximum throughput for this option would be in the region of 40,000 litres per day.
  3. This suction had minimal aesthetic impact within the field comprises of a selection of inspection chambers and a small Kiosk housing the control the equipment.

Installation

The installation was carried out in spring which allowed satisfactory excavations of the balancing tank and the main reactor tank which were both 60,000 litres in size. The excavations were approximately 13 metres long by 3 metres wide by 3 metres deep. As with all installations a C20 concrete base was installed into the excavation followed by the tank which was filled with both water from the taps and some of the sewage from the existing system. Once the tanks were full they were further surrounded in a C20 concrete with a minimum fill of 300mm.

Once the tanks were installed the inlet pipework was run back to the chamber supplied by the construction team on site and connections made. Power was run back to a dedicated dedicated power kiosk.

The final part of the installation was to upgrade the current discharge pipe to a new 150mm pipe across the field discharging into the tributary of the River Ouse.

The areas was graded off to create a very tidy finish and the system commissioned.

Sewage Tank Installation
Polaroid Frame
Installation
Installation complete
Polaroid Frame
Complete

Service and Maintenance

The system will be serviced on a monthly basis to ensure that small problems do not escalate into larger more expensive ones and will be de-sludged on a minimum 6 monthly basis to remove the build up of heavy solids from the primary settlement/balancing tank.

Impact

Due to the nature of the installation the environmental impact is very minimal with no clear or apparent large fibreglass covers protruding from the ground. The only construction above ground is the kiosk containing the blowers and switch gear.

All surplus soil from the installation was re used by creating a bund and landscaping around the actual installation. The existing system was decommissioned and backfilled using some of the surplus soil.

The noise from the system is minimal as the Kiosk built is bespoke and constructed from block together with a soil bund behind it preventing any noise from passing back up to any of the residential properties.

Get in touch today