Advice and rules for emptying private sewers

If you have an individual sewer with a three-chamber well, two-chamber well, closed tank, or mini sewage treatment plant, these rules apply to ensure that emptying and operation work in the best possible way.
As a property owner, you are responsible for ensuring that your facility is adapted to current advice and regulations.

Rules of the Swedish Work Environment Authority

The following rules apply at your site:
– Well caps that need to be lifted must not weigh more than 15 kg.
– The road leading to the parking area, i.e. the place where the sludge vehicle connects to the hose, must have a clear height of 4.5 meters, a width of at least 3.6 meters and a load-bearing capacity of at least 26 tons.
– There must be room for the sludge truck to turn around and get to and from the emptying point without having to reverse other than when turning around.
– The parking space must not be on a hill or in a curve and other traffic must be able to drive past, i.e. traffic-safe design.
– In order for sludge to be emptied, the distance between the vehicle’s parking place and the well/tank connection point must normally be no more than 10 metres (shorter distances may be required, for example, in the case of uneven or sloping ground). Hose pulling entails a very high load for the driver.
– Keep the road clear of snow and ice in winter.

Boom driving

– A boom run is charged if the sludge vehicle does not reach the well or the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s rules are not followed. Fee for boom driving follows from the waste management tariff

When emptying

About two weeks before sludge emptying (regular district emptying), we will send you a notification that we are coming to empty your well/tank.
You are welcome to participate when we empty. The driver can give you valuable tips about your facility.
The advice below also applies to those who deliver or have interval emptying (twice a year or more often)

Remember:
– Roads must be accessible in accordance with the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s rules.
– In winter, footpaths must be cleared of snow and kept slip-free.
– Mark the connection point with a stick or flag.
– Manhole covers and connections must be accessible.

You can see what applies to your particular facility on the permit from the Environmental and Health Protection Administration.
If you have a closed tank, there may be a risk that the sludge in the emptying pipe will freeze during the winter months. Order the tank to be emptied before it gets too full.

Covers and couplings

– Lids or connections should be clearly visible, mark the location with a stick or flag.
– The cover must not be blocked or buried.
– In winter, the lid should be protruding and you need to make sure that it has not frozen.
– The lid must be easy to lift and can be opened by one person. The lid must not weigh more than 15 kg

Location of the sludge truck at the connection point

If your tank/separator is not next to a road, you will need an extension hose (Figure 2). You can also bury pipes (Figure 1) that connect to the road.

(1) You can use PEM hose PE80 pipe diameter 90×8,2mm which has long life and is suitable for burial.

(2) If you choose to have a loose hose (above ground), it is a PVC hose for vacuum and pressure, so called sludge suction hose. It should be protected from sunlight.

(3)-(4) You will also need connections of a type called “Quick coupling model 42” with hose socket 75 mm, male and female coupling. When installing, the “male coupling” should be at the tank/separator and the “female coupling” at the point where the car’s hose is to be connected.

– The connection point must not be on a hill or on a curve and other traffic must be able to pass.
– The connection point should be as close to a drivable road as possible, as hose pulling is very stressful for the driver.
– The difference in level between the car and the separator/tank must not exceed six meters.

Operation and maintenance

– It is only the well that is emptied to prevent the infiltration from clogging. It is at the infiltration that the actual treatment takes place. The well, or sludge separator, has several chambers to reduce the speed of the wastewater so that the sludge has time to sink while the water is delayed and flows at a more even rate into the ground.

– Check your well and make sure that there is only sludge in the first chamber, if there is sludge in the other chambers, the well is overloaded and
needs to be emptied more often, contact the contractor’s customer service and change your emptying interval.

– Do not use the land surface for infiltration as a parking lot, horse paddock or driveway. It compacts the soil, the purification deteriorates and the plant can clog.