Sewage treatment plant installers near you

What a treatment plant does

A sewage treatment plant is a tank in several stages. The first settles solids, the middle stage adds air so bacteria can break the waste down, and the last lets the cleaned water settle before it leaves. The result is water clean enough to discharge to a drainage field, and in some cases to a watercourse, within the rules.

A septic tank does only the first step. That is why, since 2020, septic tanks in England that discharge straight into a ditch or stream must be replaced or upgraded, and a treatment plant is often the answer.

When a plant is the right choice

A plant suits sites where the outlet goes to a watercourse, where the ground drains poorly, where space for a drainage field is limited, or where a new house or conversion needs off mains drainage. It also suits replacing a cesspit, cutting tanker visits from many a year to about one desludge.

Approvals and rules

A new or replacement plant needs building control approval from your council. In England, the Environment Agency general binding rules set limits on how much can be discharged and where. Above those limits, or near protected sites, you need a permit. Wales follows Natural Resources Wales, Scotland follows SEPA and Northern Ireland follows its own regulator. A good installer explains which applies before quoting.

What a good installation quote includes

Ask for the plant make and model, its size in population equivalent, the excavation and backfill, the drainage field or outfall, the electrical connection, removal or decommissioning of the old tank, commissioning, and the first service. Ask who handles building control and any permit. Compare like with like: a cheaper quote that leaves out the drainage field or the electrics is not cheaper.

Running costs to plan for

Budget for electricity to run the air pump, a professional service at the interval in the handbook, and a desludge by tanker, often about once a year. Spare parts such as diaphragms and air pumps wear out over time.

Questions to ask installers

Which makes do you install, and why that one for my site? Will you carry out a percolation test? What warranty comes with the plant and with your work? Do you offer a service agreement after commissioning? How will you protect the garden and access?

Related services

If you are keeping a septic tank, see septic tank installation. Once your plant is in, it needs regular servicing. If the site needs a pump, read about pump stations. Around Chichester, see our local installer page.

Businesses advertising this service

13 listed contractors say on their own websites that they do this work. Check that each covers your postcode.

Common questions

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Sources

• GOV.UK: general binding rules for small sewage discharges
• GOV.UK: permits you need for septic tanks
• Environment Agency: public register of waste carriers