Soakaway with storage option?

[ivixor]

Afternoon,

Planning extension, and we will need a soakaway to drain about 80sqm of roof. I got to thinking, if we're digging a great big hole for the soakaway, why not put in a storage tank instead?

Does anyone have any experience of this and does anyone how will it be treated by building regs?

My main question is whether a soakaway is needed in addition to the tank, with the tank overflow directed to the soakaway.

 

[Notch7]

I would do some costings before getting excited about a storage tank for rainwater.

My guess is you would need a diverter and soakaway.

In the winter a 1000 litre tank would fill up in no time. Once its full it will stay full all winter, so a soakaway would still be required.

I can see it costing £1,000 by the time youve spent on tank, labour for hole digging and skip for spoil, connections etc.

It is a good idea though, envoromentally sound, but would need to be pretty big to last during dry spells in summer.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Looked at a similar idea for environmental reasons (and to try and lose the 'surface water' element of water rates). If you're in an area with frequent hosepipe bans and you love your garden then it might be worth a go, if you're thinking about reusing grey water for household uses (eg loo flushes, washing machine feeds etc) then it all gets quite complex and expensive. Key bit is the cost of the electricity needed to pump out of your tanks. IBCs aren't dear (think they were £60 or so a go last time I looked), big holes in the ground can be tricky and getting rid of the spoil isn't cheap.
Have fun- and yes you'd still need a soakaway. Might be worth you looking at local rainwater tables to see how much water your roof will collect (on average)

 

[tomfe]

Using grey water is great but it ain't cheap in the short or long run for domestic properties.
Tank, pump and plumbing will be around £4k, you'll still need a soakaway.
You'll find there is a build up in sludge in your main tank, header tank and in your toilet system/washing machine so expect cost of cleaning that out.