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Sewage Treatment Plant Installation in Shropshire

Design and installation of package sewage treatment plants for homes and small businesses, including upgrades from non-compliant septic tanks.

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Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0

A package sewage treatment plant treats waste water to a far higher standard than a septic tank, clean enough that the treated effluent may legally discharge to a watercourse as well as to ground. For many rural Shropshire properties, especially those on heavy clay where soakaways struggle, a treatment plant is now the most practical route to a compliant system.

Treatment plants are also the standard answer for properties caught by the 2020 General Binding Rules. If your existing septic tank discharges directly to a ditch, stream or brook, that arrangement is no longer permitted and a treatment plant upgrade is one of the two recognised fixes.

We size the plant to the property, install it with the right base and backfill, arrange the electrical connection it needs, and commission it properly. We then set up the servicing schedule that keeps it running well, because a treatment plant is a small working machine, not a buried box.

What the service includes

  • Plant sizing based on bedrooms and occupancy, not guesswork
  • Supply and installation of plants certified to EN 12566-3
  • Upgrades from failed or non-compliant septic tanks, including tank decommissioning
  • Drainage field or watercourse discharge arrangements that meet the General Binding Rules
  • Electrical connection, commissioning and handover
  • Ongoing annual servicing once the plant is in

Treatment plants need power and servicing

Unlike a septic tank, a treatment plant has an air blower or rotating discs and needs an electricity supply and an annual service. The running cost is modest, and in return you get much cleaner effluent and more flexible discharge options.

Discharge volumes have limits

The General Binding Rules allow up to 2 cubic metres per day to ground or 5 cubic metres per day to a watercourse without an environmental permit. Almost all single households fall well inside these limits, but larger properties, holiday lets and small businesses sometimes need a permit, and we can advise on that.

Septic tank or treatment plant?

The difference decides where your outlet is legally allowed to discharge, and it is the reason most upgrades happen.

Septic tank compared with a sewage treatment plant A septic tank settles solids but does not treat the wastewater, so its outlet may only discharge to a drainage field and never directly to a stream or ditch. A sewage treatment plant adds an air blower, which lets bacteria break the waste down and produces a much cleaner effluent, so it may discharge to a watercourse as well as to a drainage field, subject to the general binding rules. SEPTIC TANK Separates solids. Does not treat the water. OUTLET MAY DISCHARGE TO A drainage field or soakaway Perforated pipe in gravel, soaking into the ground A stream, ditch or any watercourse Banned since 2020. This is what forces an upgrade. SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT Adds air, so bacteria actually treat the water. AIR PUMP OUTLET MAY DISCHARGE TO A drainage field or soakaway Same as a septic tank, and often still the best option A stream, ditch or watercourse Allowed, if it meets the general binding rules
The difference that matters is the air pump. A septic tank only settles waste, so its outlet must soak into the ground through a drainage field. A treatment plant breaks the waste down, so its cleaner outflow may go to a watercourse as well. If your septic tank currently runs to a ditch or stream, it no longer complies and will need replacing or re-routing.

Sewage Treatment Plant Installation near you

We provide sewage treatment plant installation throughout Shropshire. Find the detail for your area:

Shrewsbury Telford Oswestry Bridgnorth Market Drayton Ludlow Whitchurch Wem Church Stretton Shifnal Newport Ellesmere Craven Arms Much Wenlock Broseley

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a septic tank and a treatment plant?

A septic tank only settles solids out and relies on the ground to finish the job, so it may only discharge to a drainage field. A treatment plant actively treats the waste using air and bacteria, producing effluent clean enough to discharge to a watercourse under the General Binding Rules.

Do treatment plants smell or make noise?

A correctly installed and serviced plant should produce no noticeable odour. The air blower makes a low hum, similar to a fish tank pump, and is normally housed where it will not be heard.

How long does installation take?

Typically two to five days on site for a domestic plant, depending on access, ground conditions and whether a drainage field is being installed at the same time.

Need sewage treatment plant installation?

Call for straight answers and a fair price, or send the form and we will come back to you promptly.

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