Phone : Gorey: 053 948 9888 & Dublin: 01 442 9852 | Mail : info@osconsulting.ie
Phone : Gorey: 053 948 9888 & Dublin: 01 442 9852 | Mail : info@osconsulting.ie
D O’ Sullivan Consulting Engineers have qualified EPA Site Suitability Assessors engineers who are eligible to carry out "Percolation tests" or "Site suitability Assessments" in order to determine the type of sewage treatment system for a particular site. We only carry out our Percolation tests/Site suitability assessments in Wicklow and Wexford as we find that local knowledge of the soils in a particular area is vital in designing the sewage treatment unit. Systems we have been involved in range from standard septic tanks with percolation areas, wastewater treatment units, willow beds and reed beds. Technology in this area tends to move extremely fast. With this in mind we ensure that our engineers are trained and kept up to date with the County Councils requirements on a regular basis.
A Percolation Test or a Site Suitability Assessment is a method of measuring how well your site can drain water away through the subsoil. It is usually required to give an indication to the Planning Department of your Local Council of how suitable the site in question will be to discharge the effluents from a dwelling to the soils. This is the first step you need to take in order to determine if the site is suitable for any type of discharge to ground soils and what type of systems are available to choose from.
Percolation Tests fundamentally involve various small excavations made at different points around the site. These small holes are then filled with water and left overnight. The next day the hole will be refilled and the rate of fall is timed in seconds. This is done several times and an average is taken. A report is then prepared by our engineers which can be used, for example, to show the suitability of a private septic tank and percolation area on a site. The infiltration rate or percolation rate is then put together in a report format with a number of other maps of the area and drawings of the proposed system. The whole proccess normally takes 5-7 working days. This report is then lodged with a planning application normally for a dwelling or extension for approval to the Councty Council.