How to make a small soakaway!

[Kath123]

Can anyone advise me how to make a small soakaway around a water butt? The water butt is at the side of the lawn area and obviously when the butt is full the water then falls onto the lawn. I would like to put a small soakaway so could someone help please. The water butt cannot be put anywhere else.
Thanks

 

[andycase007]

Hi
Dig out a 600mm x 600mm patch of ground, about 3-4 inch below the height of your grass. Make it level. Fill with decorative stones. Sit a slab on that. Sit the butt on that.
When the water overflows, it will soak through the decorative stone and into the ground.
However, if you mean that you cannot physically move it at present because of the weight, then strip off 3-4 inches around the butt and do the same.
If your earth and soil is very clay like, this may not work as the water will find it hard to drain away.

 

[Richard C]

What feeds the water butt, is it a down pipe on the main building? If so, consider what effect the water will have on the building foundations! Building Regs. require a soak away to be positioned at least 5m from the building.

 

[tapir]

why don't you empty some water from the water butt? Surely the whole point of having a water butt is to collect rain water, and use it? If you don't have a use for the water right now, it'll only take 5 minutes and a bucket to empty half the volume down a drain, on your flower beds etc. Would a be lot cheaper and easier too

I'm assuming that the downpipe filling the water butt doesn't have the option of continuing to the drains? if so, why not invest in a water butt diverter kit?
http://www.garden4less.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=1211

 

[Kath123]

Thanks for your replies. Yes the water butt is great but what the problem is that I work in a school and if we have a lot of rain on weekends hols etc the butt overflows onto the grassed area which obviously makes it very muddy and therefor the children can not play on it. The rains is coming off a canopy which has been built and there is no other place we can safetly put the water butt. The lawn is sloping away from the water butt so therefor away from any foundations. There is not a drain nearby to which we can safetly divert the excess water. I have had a piece of hose pipe running from the water butt taway from the grass but this did not waork as 1 of the children fell over it.!!
Thanks Andy i think i will try that idea.

 

[hain44]

Hi
Some pre-constructed soakaway units are available in market ...once try these units ...



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