Septic tank and cesspit emptying in West Sussex

Who empties tanks in West Sussex?

Five listed firms say they empty tanks here. Peachy Services, ABL Liquid Waste and West Sussex Drains are based in the county, while Clearmasters and Drain Detectives send tankers in from Surrey and the wider South East.

Peachy Services has its base on Charlwood Road in Crawley, at Kilmarnock Farm close to Gatwick, and its West Sussex page names towns from East Grinstead and Haywards Heath down to Selsey, Bognor Regis and Worthing. ABL Liquid Waste, at Bognor Regis, advertises emptying for septic tanks and cesspits across West Sussex and the south of Hampshire. West Sussex Drains has its head office at Sidlesham Common on the Manhood Peninsula; its website shows waste carrier registration CBDU637976. Clearmasters, whose main office is at Smallfield in Surrey, names Horsham, Crawley, Chichester and Worthing on its website. Drain Detectives, a trading name of Rexaus Group, lists Sussex among the eight counties it covers and names Crawley and East Grinstead.

Which listed firms name your part of the county?

Naming a town does not mean a firm is close to it. Use this table to see which firms mention your town or postcode, then ask each one how far its tanker will travel.

For more on each town, see tank services in Chichester, tank services in Crawley and tank services in Horsham. Ready to compare? Ask for a quote or call a firm from the list below.

What makes West Sussex different for a tank owner?

Three things: protected harbours and wetlands, designated bathing waters along the coast, and chalk under the South Downs that supplies much of the area's drinking water. Each one can change what an existing or new system is allowed to do.

Chichester Harbour, Pagham Harbour and the Arun Valley

Chichester and Langstone Harbours have been a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar wetland since 1987, and Pagham Harbour since 1988. The Arun Valley, which takes in Pulborough Brooks and Amberley Wild Brooks, is a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar site. Under the English rules published on GOV.UK, a discharge to the ground cannot meet the rules within 50 metres of sites like these, and one to a ditch or stream cannot meet them within 500 metres. A property that close must apply to the Environment Agency for a permit, or connect to a sewer where that is reasonable.

The emptying itself does not change, but if a firm suggests replacing a tank or moving its outlet near the harbours or the Arun floodplain, ask how the new system will meet these rules before you agree. The Ramsar record describes the meadows between Pulborough and Amberley as subject to occasional flooding, so mention soft or wet ground when you book a tanker there in winter.

Bathing waters on the coast

The surface water rules also rule out a discharge within 500 metres of a designated bathing water. Worthing's older site is on the promenade opposite Heene Road, and the government added Goring Beach and Worthing Beach House from the 2024 bathing season. Adur and Worthing Councils list Lancing, Shoreham Beach and Southwick as bathing waters too. If your septic tank or plant drains to a stream that reaches the sea near these beaches, check where the outlet sits.

Chalk under the Downs

The Environment Agency's strategy for the Arun and Western Streams says the chalk of the South Downs and the Lower Greensand are an important groundwater resource, and that most public water supply there is taken from groundwater. A discharge to ground inside a groundwater source protection zone 1 needs a permit, and that zone can include land within 50 metres of a private water supply. Check the zone on the Environment Agency map before any new drainage field goes in. Around Horsham and the Low Weald the issue is more often heavy clay, which the Horsham page covers.

How often will the tanker need to come?

For a septic tank, GOV.UK says the sludge should be removed at least once a year, or in line with the manufacturer's instructions. Because a cesspit has no outlet, it fills completely and the gap between visits depends on its capacity and the household's water use.

ABL Liquid Waste will quote in writing for one empty or for an ongoing arrangement, which suits a cesspit on a fixed round. West Sussex Drains advertises no call-out charge on its 24 hour service. Whoever you use, ask to see the firm's waste carrier registration and file the transfer note it gives you. Our septic tank emptying cost guide and cesspit emptying cost guide explain how firms price a load, and how a septic tank works explains why the sludge builds up. Never lift a tank lid or lean into a chamber yourself: the gases can kill.

Who do you ask about a new or replacement system?

West Sussex has seven district and borough councils: Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Worthing. Building regulations approval for a new or replacement tank goes through your council's building control team or a registered building control approver.

Inside the South Downs National Park, the National Park Authority is the planning authority, and Chichester District Council handles applications in its part of the park on the Authority's behalf. Sussex councils are being reorganised: the government's consultation of 12 May 2026 said any new unitary councils would take on full roles from April 2028, so for now the seven councils stay responsible. For choosing a septic tank or a plant, see sewage treatment plant installation. When emptying does not cure a wet garden or slow drains, the problem may be the drainage field.

Treatment plants and pumps in West Sussex

Three more listed firms work on plants and pumps here but do not advertise tank emptying. Arun Pumps in Rustington says it has fitted and repaired pumps since 1983. Lemon Drainage Services in Chichester services treatment plants and pump stations and offers effluent sampling to check how a plant is performing. CH Services, at Alfold just over the Surrey border, says it covers all of West Sussex and converts septic tanks and cesspits into treatment plants. See treatment plant servicing for what a service visit covers.

Listed contractors in West Sussex

Firms that advertise emptying

Septic tank and cesspit emptying, listed with where each firm is based.

Treatment plant and pump firms

These firms do not advertise tank emptying. Contact them for plant servicing, pump faults, conversions or inspections.

Sources

Each listing was checked against the business's own website on 27 October 2026. Official pages were opened the same day.

• Peachy Services: West Sussex page
• ABL Liquid Waste, company website
• West Sussex Drains: tanker waste disposal
• Clearmasters, company website
• Drain Detectives: septic tank emptying
• Arun Pumps, company website
• Lemon Drainage Services, company website
• CH Services, company website
• GOV.UK: general binding rules, discharge to the ground (updated 23 July 2026)
• GOV.UK: general binding rules, discharge to a surface water (updated 2 October 2023)
• Ramsar: Chichester and Langstone Harbours
• JNCC: Pagham Harbour Ramsar information sheet
• JNCC: Arun Valley Special Area of Conservation
• Ramsar: Arun Valley
• GOV.UK: new bathing waters, government response (13 May 2024)
• Adur and Worthing Councils: bathing water quality
• GOV.UK: Arun and Western Streams abstraction licensing strategy (22 June 2022)
• South Downs National Park Authority: who deals with planning
• GOV.UK: local government reorganisation in West Sussex (12 May 2026)

Nearby areas

Cesspit and septic tank emptying in Surrey, Chichester treatment plant installers. See also septic tank emptying, cesspit emptying and all mapped areas.