Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions Page
Please click on a question to see the answer.
We hope we can answer your question here, if not please do not hesitate to contact us
Rainwater Harvesting
Q. What is rainwater harvesting?
A. It is the simple method of collecting rainwater from a buildings' roof (via the normal drainage system) and storing it for re-use, to partially replace the water from the mains supply.
Q. Do I need planning permission to install a rainwater system?
A. No there are no regulations specific to rainwater harvesting but the general building regulations must be observed.
Q. How much maintenance is required?
A. The only routine maintenance necessary is the cleaning of the rainwater filter unit. This is a simple 5-minute task and should be carried out approximately every 3 months. The other components of our system are effectively maintenance free.
Sustainable Drainage
Q. What is Sustainable Drainage (SUDS)?
A.It is an approach to managing rainfall in a development that replicates natural drainage.
It aims to Prevent Pollution, Control Flooding, Recharge Groundwater & Enhance the environment. Runoff is collected and stored to allow natural cleaning to occur prior to infiltration or controlled release to watercourses.
Q. Why use SUDS?
A.SUDS provide a flexible approach to drainage, with a wide range of components from soakaways to large-scale basins or ponds. The aim of the SUDS approach is to mimic as closely as possible the natural drainage from a site before development and to treat runoff to remove pollutants.
Adopting a holistic approach towards surface water drainage provides the benefits of combined water quality and quantity control, as well as increased amenity value.
This is accomplished by managing the increased flows and pollution from surface water runoff that can arise from developments, ideally utilising a management train to achieve an equal balance of quantity, quality and amenity.
Q. Do I need to use an oil separator for car park drainage?
A. Not necessarily. You might not need an oil separator if you use SUDS. The SUDS approach should be used on all sites to minimise the impact of the development on the environment.
Techniques that control pollution close to the source, such as permeable surfaces or infiltration trenches, might offer suitable means of treatment for run-off from low risk areas such as roofs, car parks, and non-operational areas. In higher risk areas, you might need other SUDS facilities such as constructed ponds, wetlands or swales.
Where there is a high risk of oil contamination, such as a fuelling point, it may be appropriate to use an oil separator as part of the SUDS scheme.
Stormbox
Q. What is stormbox?
A.Storm box is lightweight modular system manufactured from recycled pvc. It comprises 96 % void ratio, and can be assembled underground to provide a structure to store storm water.
Can Storm box be used beneath roads?
Yes. Two classes of Storm Box are available:
a. Traffic Box – for use beneath roads and car parking areas
b. Green field Box - for use beneath green field areas.
Q. What applications can Storm Box be used for?
A.
Storm box is used for two main applications:
a. Storm Water Attenuation – rainwater storage during storm events, which empties
into a sewer system or watercourse under controlled flow conditions.
b. Infiltration / soakaway – similar to the above, however the stored water is allowed
to filter out into the surrounding ground.
Q. What size are Storm Box units supplied in?
A. Storm box is supplied in standard units of 2m x 0.5m x 0.5m high.
Q. How do ground conditions affect installation?
A. Storm Box can be installed in most soil conditions, however the permissible installation may reduce in poor conditions. It is good practice to avoid high water table situations.
Q. What precautions should be taken against silt build up?
A. Installation of a Silt Guardian immediately upstream of the attenuation tank will intercept the majority of silt in suspension, including small particles. As well as encouraging settlement, the Silt Guardian comes complete with a filter unit. The central pipe within the Storm Box also helps to ensure that any silt that does get into the system does not settle out at low flows.
Wastewater Systems
Q. What are septic tanks?
A. Septic tanks are a treatment system that is designed to safely dispose of biological sanitary waste.
Q. How do septic tanks work?
A. Basically septic tanks provides a "holding Tank" where natural bacterial action decomposes human waste products into environmentally acceptable components - the major end-components being water, gases, and undigested solids. The end products, except the undigested solids, are then normally discharged into a soakaway system.
Q. How does the tank treat sewage?
A. The tank Modern Sewage treatment tanks use bacteria to digest sewage in an aerobic environment.The aerobic environment is created when air is supplied via a very small noiseless compressor through aerators in the bottom of the tank. Another method is to have rotating discs within the centre of the tank. Aerobic digestion produces heat. carbon dioxide and new bacteria or biomass. The result is clean water in the discharger.
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