New septic tank costs

SIR – The death sentence for septic tanks (Letters, May 16) has been coming for a long time. The EU legislation was deferred several years ago, but not cancelled: it was disseminated to all councils at the time. The logic is that septic tanks pollute the ground, along with water that the water companies then have to pay to process when it is extracted from ground reservoirs.

Householders on mains drainage pay 95 per cent sewage rates on the metered water they use, while septic tank holders pay nothing.

Our local authority will not allow septic tanks on any new developments, dating back to 1998. I have been on a bio tank system for 20 years, and it has significant costs. There needs to be a 24-hour electrical supply for an air pump and an outfall pump, and the tank has to be cleaned by an approved operator every year.

The costs are probably about the same as the sewage charge on mains drainage, and the installation cost is likely to be around £10,000. Some sort of loan scheme may well be needed if people are to adopt this system.

Incidentally, the biggest polluter of groundwater is nitrates from farming – yet there is no charge for this. Gerry O’neill

Mareham on the Hill, Lincolnshire

SIR – If the new Defra regulations regarding septic tanks are in fact EU requirements, they will no doubt be ignored by everybody but the British. Andy Bradshaw

Guildford, Surrey

SIR – My understanding of the binding regulations applying to septic tanks is that the tank only needs to replaced if the discharge goes directly into an open ditch, stream or river. Philip Hamilton

Salisbury, Wiltshire