Why should I bother maintaining/servicing my Sewage Treatment Plant?

A sewage treatment plant works using a balanced biological process that relies on various parts being in good working order to treat and discharge safely. Here are some reasons why maintaining your treatment plant is very important and the sorts of things you should be looking for.

1. As a homeowner, you have a legal obligation to service and maintain your treatment plant if you are off mains as part of adhering to Environment Agency's Binding Rules. This includes desludging to the manufacturer's guidelines. Most standard domestic 6-population treatment plants require their primary chamber to be desludged annually.

2. A sewage treatment plant that has not been properly maintained will cause you and your property issues, whether this is a nasty odour (particularly in warm weather), slow to drain pipes, discharging foul waste that has not been properly treated or even worse, an overflow situation which would be a major health and safety environmental issue.

3. Like a car, if a sewage treatment plant is properly maintained and serviced, it can prevent major repair/remedial costs. For example, replacing the diaphragms in your compressor, which we do as part of our service contracts, can extend the life of the whole compressor. Or monitoring the insulation of a pump can show if there has or may be a blockage on the rising main, meaning this can be cleared before the pump fails.

4. Also similar to a car, if ever you come to sell your property (even if you do not intend to sell anytime soon - you just never know what is around the corner) a full service history including desludge tickets can hugely speed up the process of any conveyancing. It shows any potential buyer that the system is cared for and is less likely to cause them issues going forward. It also means a professional has been involved that is more acquainted with the EA's binding rules for sewage treatment plants.

5. If you have a service contract in place for your sewage treatment plant with a reputable company like us, if any issues do arise with your sewage treatment plant, we offer reduced call out rates and part replacement, so you can get issues resolved properly and swiftly. Also, if CM have serviced your sewage treatment plant in the past, we will be able to arrive to site knowing what replacement parts you are likely to need meaning we can act faster.

6. You are less likely to forget about the system if you have a service contract in place for your sewage treatment plant because CM will remind you when its due. Because your sewage treatment plant is underground, and often 'out of the way' it is often 'out of mind' which is the last thing you want for an expensive and important piece of equipment.

Overall, a service contract means peace of mind that your system is taken care of. Get in touch with CM if you require one of our British Water Accredited Engineers to attend to check your system.