https://restorerivers.eu/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Dolcoath 2026-04-09T05:35:55Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.39.7 https://restorerivers.eu/wiki/index.php?title=Case_study:Septic_Tank_Survey_in_the_Clun_Forest&diff=34032 2015-03-01T19:36:14Z

<p>Dolcoath: </p> <hr /> <div>{{Case study status<br /> |Approval status=Draft<br /> }}<br /> {{Location<br /> |Location=52.44116927662446, -3.160216212272644<br /> }}<br /> {{Project overview<br /> |Status=Complete<br /> |Themes=Social benefits, Water quality<br /> |Country=England<br /> |Main contact forename=Bob<br /> |Main contact surname=Harris<br /> |Main contact id=Dolcoath<br /> |Contact organisation=Land Life and Livelihoods<br /> |Multi-site=No<br /> |Project summary=The catchment of the Upper Clun and its tributaries is largely unsewered and, although the population density is low, the contribution of septic tanks adding nutrients to the river needs to be better understood. The river is classified to be of high quality but a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) at the lower end is being degraded and there are other signs of freshwater related biodiversity decline. Nutrients play their part, but some of this decline is believed to be due to the deposition of sediment in the riverbed. The river is heavily silt-laden when in spate and this is particularly noticeable in the upper reaches. The steep slopes and high rainfall in the Upper Clun are likely to lead to proportionately high soil erosion and rapid transport with roads acting as conduits and drains as pathways for more rapid transport to the river. This is a community-led and Environment Agency financed review of the state of septic tanks and road drains in the Upper Clun catchment.<br /> <br /> |Monitoring surveys and results=A small group of people organised by Land Life and Livelihoods were able to obtain information through questionnaire and interview from 66% of the households with septic tank sewerage systems in the area. In general there was a low degree of awareness of how tanks worked, but people in the locality seem to have readily addressed problems when they have arisen. 52% of tanks are over 30 years old and 37% of soakaway systems being within 25m of a watercourse. The majority of householders (54%) have their tanks desludged frequently (&lt;3 yrs) but a significant proportion (16%) wait 10 yrs or longer. A risk assessment was carried out using the information collected and a ranking list drawn up. Only 3 (2%) systems showed obvious signs of failure and need attention, although the condition of tanks was not physically inspected. Some systems are in high-risk locations but without obvious signs of malfunction and in the absence of supporting water quality data it is difficult to determine whether they are working effectively. Recommendations are made for improvements to the 3 sites and further investigation of the remaining higher-risk sites.<br /> <br /> The investigation of the flux of silt and sediment from hillsides and road verges via the road system suggested that roads were major carriers of sediment and that as well as some road drains, overflows from accumulated water and ditches alongside roads also needed to be considered. However, road drains are mostly located in the valley bottoms and so dealing with them is akin to treating the symptom rather than the root causes. The report suggests that a whole catchment analysis of the erosion and sediment transport issues is needed of which managing road drains should play a part.<br /> |Lessons learn=The overall conclusions are that without water quality data, it is not certain how big an impact on water quality unsewered properties are having. On the face of it, septic tanks do not present as big an issue for river ecology as soil erosion and sediment transport and that a whole catchment approach to understanding the pressures is needed.<br /> <br /> }}<br /> {{Image gallery}}<br /> {{Image gallery end}}<br /> {{Toggle button}}<br /> {{Toggle content start}}<br /> {{Case study subcatchment}}<br /> {{Site}}<br /> {{Project background}}<br /> {{Motivations}}<br /> {{Measures}}<br /> {{Hydromorphological quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Biological quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Physico-chemical quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Other responses header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Monitoring documents}}<br /> {{Monitoring documents end}}<br /> {{Additional Documents}}<br /> {{Additional Documents end}}<br /> {{Additional links and references header}}<br /> {{Additional links and references footer}}<br /> {{Supplementary Information}}<br /> {{Toggle content end}}</div>

Dolcoath https://restorerivers.eu/wiki/index.php?title=Case_study:Septic_Tank_Survey_in_the_Clun_Forest&diff=34031 2015-03-01T19:19:58Z

<p>Dolcoath: Created page with &quot;{{Case study status |Approval status=Draft }} {{Location |Location=52.44116927662446, -3.160216212272644 }} {{Project overview |Project title=Septic Tank Survey in the Clun Fo...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>{{Case study status<br /> |Approval status=Draft<br /> }}<br /> {{Location<br /> |Location=52.44116927662446, -3.160216212272644<br /> }}<br /> {{Project overview<br /> |Project title=Septic Tank Survey in the Clun Forest<br /> |Status=Complete<br /> |Themes=Social benefits, Water quality<br /> |Country=England<br /> |Main contact forename=Bob<br /> |Main contact surname=Harris<br /> |Main contact id=Dolcoath<br /> |Contact organisation=Land Life and Livelihoods<br /> |Multi-site=No<br /> }}<br /> {{Image gallery}}<br /> {{Image gallery end}}<br /> {{Toggle button}}<br /> {{Toggle content start}}<br /> {{Case study subcatchment}}<br /> {{Site}}<br /> {{Project background}}<br /> {{Motivations}}<br /> {{Measures}}<br /> {{Hydromorphological quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Biological quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Physico-chemical quality elements header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Other responses header}}<br /> {{End table}}<br /> {{Monitoring documents}}<br /> {{Monitoring documents end}}<br /> {{Additional Documents}}<br /> {{Additional Documents end}}<br /> {{Additional links and references header}}<br /> {{Additional links and references footer}}<br /> {{Supplementary Information}}<br /> {{Toggle content end}}</div>

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