SEWAGE TREATMENT
Selling a property with a septic tank: do and don’t
OVERVIEW
For the past ten years, the Irish government created more and more regulations that apply to homeowners equipped with a domestic waste water treatment system. When buying or selling a property with a septic tank, you are exposing yourself to those rules. Find out what they are and how to manage them before putting your housing on the real estate market.
As you may know, moving out of a house could be quite stressful. There are a few things you need to think ahead and to take care of before diving into the next chapter of your life. The more organised you are, the easier it will be. Part of the challenges you might have to face: dealing with the local regulations when it comes to your wastewater treatment system. If you’re selling a property with a septic tank, the list of do and don’t goes on and on. Before putting your house on the real estate market, you need to make sure that you have been registering your sewage treatment solution, that it fits for its purpose and that you have passed the inspection. Let’s go through all the points you need to check.
If you have any questions, feel free to call us
VISIT OUR virtual SHOWROOM
What you need to do as a seller
As a homeowner, you are probably aware of the legislation that is put in place by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) when it comes to wastewater treatment systems for single houses. With its Water Services Act 2012, the Irish government is working on limiting water pollution by inspecting individual installations throughout the country. The aim? Making sure that your sewage treatment solution is working properly, no matter the system you are using. It applies to septic tanks owners. This is your responsibility to make sure that you are respecting the regulations on your property and that you are not outlawed. To help you with the selling process, the EPA created a checklist that goes through all the do and don’t.
Dos and donts
- Every household in Ireland was asked to register their DWWTS by the 1st February 2013. If you haven’t done it, please do so as soon as possible as you might expose yourself to a fine of up to 5 000€. The registration fee is 50€ and you have the possibility to do it online by checking up this website.
- Once you registered your septic tank and have a valid certificate of registration, you need to plan an inspection with your local environment agency. An official inspector will come to your property and make sure that your domestic waste water treatment system fits for purpose and is not a risk to human health/ the environment. Learn more about the inspection here.
- Once it has been done, they will issue you a Certificate of Compliance, showing the system complies with the Water Services Act. If it’s not the case, an Advisory Notice will be served which means that some work is needed to satisfy the Water Services Act.
- Before selling your property, you need to make sure that you keep all the proofs of maintenance, desludging and servicing for your septic tank: those documents need to be kept for at least 5 years and should be shared with the new buyer.
Interact with the Tricel Vento Septic tank
How to interact with the tank
- Click on the numbers to see the annotations.
- You can also switch between the treatment process stages (yellow circle at the bottom left-hand corner) and the anatomy of the Novo (green circle at the bottom left-hand corner).
- To view in Virtual Reality (VR), click the square at the top right-hand corner and simply scan the QR code with your phone.
- In order to check the dimensions, click on the spanner icon.
- To download an image of the Novo, click on the camera icon (top right-hand corner)
What kind of maintenance are we talking about here?
When we are talking about maintenance, we want to make sure that your domestic wastewater treatment solution works properly. During our visit, we will have a look at:
- Your system in its entirety (how are you using it, is it safe for you and the environment, does it fit for purpose based on the local authority regulations)
- Does your septic tank cause pollution (leaking waste or discharging waste) directly into the ground or water source.
- Where is your rainwater (roof or surface) going?
- Do you desludge your septic tank proper;y? An authorised contractor should always carry it.
What to do if your septic tank does not fit for purpose:
Articles you might be interested in
Our range of products
Tricel Vento Septic Tank
Shallow dig tank, strong & robust underground tank, No electrical or moving parts. Ideal for sites with good drainage & plenty of space.
Tricel Novo Sewage Treatment Plant
Durable & long lasting SMC tank, shallow dig tank, easy installation (Plug and Play), long life components.
Tricel Maxus Sewage Treatment Plant
Commercial plant. Submerged Aerated Filter (SAF) technology. Ideal for every project over 50 Population Equivalent.
Tricel Tero Tertiary Treatment
An eco-friendly and modular system with proven E.Coli Treatment capabilities in line with the new EPA requirements.
Tricel Puraflo Secondary treatment plant
Ideal for sensitive sites, compliant to Irish Standard, small footprint.
Tricel Sandcel
Sand Polishing Filter
Provides a dual function of polishing the effluent from a wastewater treatment system and disposing it into groundwater.
Tricel Pumping Stations
Pump fluids from one place to another where gravity drainage cannot be used, easy and trouble-free installation
50 YEARS IN BUSINESS
A highly successful multinational corporation with over 50 years’ valuable industry experience
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
Plants available for all capacities, from 1PE up to 50PE. Free advice on request.
Fast Delivery
On-time delivery is a core requirement of our successful business operations
Key Features
Fast Delivery
Fast delivery + Rapid response to all our customers
Certified
Tricel Products are certified to EN12566-1 and EN 12566-3 certified
Technical expertise
Unrivalled technical expertise by our sales team regarding wastewater treatment solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS PE ?
PE represents the initials of Population Equivalent. Population equivalent: conversion value which aims at expressing non-domestic applications in terms of domestic loading based on 1 person creates 60 g/day BOD5 and 150l/day. (Code of Practice: Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems Serving Single Houses (p.e. < 10), EPA)
DIFFERENT PRODUCTS SOLD BY TRICEL
Tricel Novo & Vitae
Both are wastewater treament plant solutions manufactured by Tricel. Wastewater treatment plants offer a superior quality of treatment. For example, the Tricel Novo comprises of three independent wastewater treatment zones and offers an average of efficiency of 95.9% BOD removal.
This is a higher treatment standard than the effluent from a septic tank. Please note: all wastewater treatment plants used in Ireland must comply with the EN12566-3 standard and all septic tanks must comply with the EN12566-1 standard..
Tricel Vento
The septic tank from Tricel is manufactured as a primary treatment. Designed for the settlement of your effluent. This product may need an additional treatment like the Sandcel or Puraflo.
WARRANTIES
Most Tricel products have a warranty. To discover all the guarantees on our products, as well as on the internal parts, consult our dedicated product pages.
WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THE WASTEWATER PRODUCED?
The required standards are 20:30:20 BOD, SS, NH4. All Tricel produces exceed the requirements when tested to En12566-3 and comply with SR66.
Learn more about our certification
MAINTENANCE ON THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Tricel recommends that you maintain your device to the fullest. You are obliged by law to avoid all types of pollution or nuisances. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information on our service contracts. An annual maintenance contract may be offered.
Get in touch