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What is Foul Water Drainage?

A foul water drainage network is a system of pipes, chambers and pumps that discharge foul water from a building. The foul water is then carried it into the national sewage treatment network. The way it works is domestic drainage systems connected to the public sewers take the wastewater from the toilets, baths, skins, showers, dishwashers, and wash machines and carry it through the sanitary pipework (above ground pipework) into an underground drainage network. The underground drainage network is operated and maintained by the local water authority.

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Depending on the specific scenario, several different systems can be installed to manage foul water drainage such as Storage Tank Systems, Gravity and Pumped Systems and Privately owned and Adoptable Systems.

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Here are some of the different foul water drainage systems.

Several different systems can be installed to manage foul water drainage, such as Gravity and Pumped Systems and Privately owned.

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• GRAVITY FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

• PUMPED FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

• PRIVATELY OWNED FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

GRAVITY FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

Gravity sewers are the optimum engineering solution for dealing with foul water because they are cost-effective and low maintenance. We still use the same principles as employed by Brunell when he built the Victorian sewer network in London. Pipes are laid at a gradient which and gravity does the rest pulling the wastewater down the network with any further mechanical assistance required. Gravity systems do not require a power supply and have a very long lifespan if properly maintained by regular cleansing of the network.

PUMPED FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

A pumped foul drainage network is utilised in situations where invert levels are unfavourable. In this instance, the location where the wastewater is generated or collected is lower than the location where it is discharged into the public network. Water will not flow uphill and so the network is unable to rely on gravity alone to ensure the flow of wastewater to the discharge point. Instead, a mechanical pump is required to generate the pressure necessary to overcome the level difference and push the wastewater in the correct direction to the outfall sewer. These systems require a power supply, septicity monitoring, regular monitoring and extensive maintenance.

PRIVATELY OWNED FOUL WATER DRAINAGE

Any system or part of a network that lies on non-public land is considered to be privately owned foul water systems such as septic tanks, cesspits, or a self-owned domestic sewage treatment plant. Those privately owned foul water drainage systems that do not have a licence to discharge into the local public networks are responsible for their own waste disposal.

What are the differences between foul water drainage and stormwater drainage?

Foul water drainage removes wastewater from a building, such as used bath, shower and toilet water, through the sanitary pipework (above ground pipework) to the main sewers. Stormwater drainage, on the other hand, removes rainwater that is collected in gutters, gullies, ditches and channels when it falls onto external hard surfaces such as roofs, driveways, roads and pavements. It is then discharged via a series of pipe and ditch networks into a local watercourse in a controlled way. This significantly reduces the likelihood of flooding in our built environment as it helps control the groundwater flow to reduce the risk of ground saturation. Stormwater is naturally occurring and has not been contaminated and can therefore be discharged into the watercourse or be directed into an attenuation system or soakaway to naturally seep into the water table.

Depending on the specific scenario, several different systems can be installed to manage foul water drainage such as Storage Tank Systems, Gravity and Pumped Systems and Privately owned and Adoptable Systems.