SITE PREPARATION


A wasted opportunity?


Daid Stagg, technical manager for Graf , says that commissioning of domestic wastewater treatment plants is as ital as getting gas and electricity serices signed off by specialists, and wonders why its not happening


astewater treatment plants became established in the UK in the late s when specifiers and homeowners finally woke up to the limitations of septic tanks. s a result, you would think it was safe to assume that the need to commission these plants, or to set them up properly, was also recognised. oweer, some manufacturers


W


are finding that only  to  of their systems, at best, are being commissioned. The reason they are not cannot be the cost  it is only between  and   nor the time  the  to -point checklist only takes less than an hour for a trained specialist serice proider. So, what is the reason t is most likely that a large percentage of specifiers and end users simply are not aware that commissioning is available andor how important it is to the long- term wellbeing of their wastewater management system. While registration systems do not guarantee the uality of long-term service and maintenance and the protection of groundwater from potential pollution, such systems eist in Wales and Scotland, but not currently in ngland. istorically, there were some agencies which registered and tracked treatment plants, but when the General Binding Rules a set of rules-based regulations intended to simplify the regulation of small sewage discharges) were introduced by the nironment gency in , all this, ironically, seemed to cease.


While more and more people are now doing their research and due diligence before purchasing a wastewater treatment plant, some manufacturers


are bridging the gap and putting their money where their mouth is, by offering free commissioning.


These watchdogs for their own systems would rather help specifiers and end users aoid any potential emotional, economic and environmental impact that may be caused without such measures in place.


ssues with non-commissioned wastewater treatment plants are generally due to poor installation and system set-up rather than the systems themseles as they are typically relatiely simple to operate.


The first symptom is likely to be a bad smell. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not what end users should epect from a wastewater treatment plant! t is likely something has stopped working. Perhaps a compressor error. Perhaps the air diffusers that blow


oygen into the water in the tank hae got blocked or damaged in some way. aybe a power cut caused an issue with the timings and workings of the system. Perhaps the waste content is not suitable for the system to work at its optimal rate. or want of a better way of describing this, is the tank being filled with too much liuid and not enough solids That can affect how the treatment process works.


The same goes if the system takes in


more grey water from sinks, washing machines and showers, than it does black water from toilets. ts called a sewage treatment plant for a reason – it needs sewage Too much soap and not enough sewage might mean the treatment uality drops.


The number one reason for issues with wastewater treatment plants is poor aeration caused by air hoses and


Issues with non-commissioned wastewater treatment plants are generally due to poor installation and system set-up rather than the systems themselves, as they are typically relatively simple to operate jul/aug 2023


www.sbhonline.co.uk 37


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76