JWC – Page 2 – JW Clark

Sewer connection, Wicken, Northants

Projects

Sewer connection, Wicken, Northants

We were approached by a private customer, who had a Treatment Plant in his back garden, but which was not working to current regs, and who wanted connecting to the public sewer in the Highway.

Objective

Our objective was to make a connection into the public sewer, in the Highway and 35 metres away from the property down the road. We then had to lay pipework across the road, up the grass verge and into the private property, and to a point where existing foul drainage could be re-routed from the old septic tank and into the public sewer.

About the project

Our customer already had a treatment plant in his garden, which was serving his relatively new property. However the effluent was struggling to soak away in whatever drainage system had been installed for the treatment plant. Also, under new regulations that came into effect in 2020, you are no longer permitted to install a replacement treatment plant in the event that a public sewer exists in close proximity, and there was indeed a foul sewer in the carriageway outside the property.

If you need a sewer connection doing, please contact us as early as possible, there are many reasons why the lead-time for a sewer connection can be up to a year or more. For more information click here.

We acted on behalf of our customer to facilitate the Section 106 application to Anglian Water, as we usually do. We put a basic drainage plan together, which we submitted to Anglian Water and which was accepted.

With the approval ‘in hand’, we were then able to apply for the section 50 to Highways. With the road being so narrow, it was clearly going to require a road closure. Unfortunately this adds 3 month leadtime onto the whole process, and also adds extra cost.

We started our works at the connection point, the existing manhole. This was the ‘start of the run’ prior to our new connection, but it was still well in excess of a metre deep. In our favour, our customer’s property was on a higher level, so we were easily able to get the fall. We core-drilled into the manhole, and also broke out and re-formed some of the benching in the manhole. The pipework was laid across the narrow road and into the verge, and from there it continued up the verge, still in the Highway, all the way to our customer’s property about 35 metres away.

At the boundary with the property, we installed a manhole where the new drainage run turned at near-on 90 degrees. From here we continued into private property.

The existing Treatment Plant was another 20 metres away into private property. This required us to excavate and lay pipework in block paving and in unmade ground in a paddock.

We made the connection into the existing system by tapping into the final manhole in private property, just before the existing Treatment Plant. The customer asked that we decommission the Treatment Plant by filling it with some of the excavated material. To enable us to do this, we asked that he have the Plant emptied one last time, which we arranged.

The block paving was reinstated, as was the verge and grass areas, and in less than 2 weeks our customer was now off his old Treatment Plant and onto the public sewer.

Timeline

Time to quote for the works: Less than a week

Time taken to obtain Section 106 Licence from AW: 2 weeks

Time taken to obtain Section 50 Licence from Highways: 4 weeks

Leadtime to use S50 Licence: 12 weeks – due in part to TTRO (Road Closure)

Time taken to do the work: 10 days

Total time: 20 weeks

Do you need a sewer connection needs doing? Click here to enquire.

Don’t leave it too late for a sewer connection, most people do! Read our article here: How long does it take to do a sewer connection?

Click here to see more of our case studies.

Sewer connection, Golder’s Green, London

Projects

Sewer connection, Golder's Green, London, Case Study

We were approached by a private customer, who had been referred to us by another private customer, to undertake both a foul and surface water connection for an existing property.

Objective

Our objective was to make two new connections onto the public sewer, both foul and surface water and connect to an existing property. The connections were made in the centre of the road, and pipes laid back to the boundary with private property. We connected the new pipework into the existing sewerage system within private property which included us making some alterations to the existing system.

In addition, we lifted an existing paved area and re-laid all the slabs.

About the project

Our customer already had a connection into a neighbouring property, but required two connections to be made into the public sewers in the Highway instead. This included both the foul and surface water sewers. The surface water sewer was in the centre of the road, at a couple of metres deep. The foul was closer to the pavement, but was in excess of 3m deep.

We facilitated to Section 106 to Thames Water, which included us putting together a basic drainage drawing, which detailed where the pipework was within the property, and also how we planned to connect to the two sewers and by which method. For the surface water we were able to fit a saddle connection and for the foul we had to fit a junction insertion.

If you need a sewer connection doing, please contact us as early as possible, there are many reasons why the lead-time for a sewer connection can be up to a year or more. For more information click here.

Our Section 50 application to Highways included some legal suspensions of parking spaces, in order that we could clear cars in advance of the work taking place. With the site set up on day one, we brought our own 3.7 tonne mini digger to site, complete with breaker.

As is the condition with a Section 50 Licence, we were obliged to source all drawings for utilities that might be present within the area to be excavated. We also sprayed up where we expected services to be, having done a CAT scan of the area.

We sawcut and broke out for the pit in the road, where we would make the two connections.

We were lucky to have very few services in the road and located both the foul and surface water sewers on day one. Over the next couple of days we carefully excavated around both sewers, breaking concrete away from the surface water sewer, as is of the case.

We sheeted the excavation as we went, using trench sheets, acrows and timbers.

We made the connections onto both sewers and these were inspected and passed by the Thames Water Inspector. We then proceeded to excavate further and to lay pipes towards the pavement.

In the pavement we encountered a lot more services, including a cast iron pipe which we think was a water main, also a couple of electric cables, BT ducts, a small BT cable which we were lucky to avoid, and also some fairly shallow Cable TV ducts. We had to hand dig around all of these services, after which we continued to lay pipework, for foul and surface water, into private property.

In private property we had to remove and reinstall the demarcation manhole for the foul, which included turning it to face the new direction out towards the Highway. From this new demarcation manhole we laid plastic 110mm pipework to connect up to the clay pipework we’d laid up to the boundary.

For the surface water we had to lay new 110mm plastic pipework from the downpipes on the house, to a new demarcation chamber that we installed, and from here will laid pipework up to that which we’d laid to the boundary in clay.

As part of the quote to our customer, we had included to lift and relay about 20 paving slabs which were uneven, creating a trip hazard. We re-laid these on a wet sand/cement bed, and pointed up around the two demarcation manholes.

With the excavations backfilled and compacted in the Highway, we reinstated with tarmac, and in the pavement we re-laid the large slabs that were there previously. The job took us 8 days from start to finish, including the work in private property. We finished by jet washing in private property and in the Highway, removing all signage and barriers from site, and taking our plant and machinery home for a well-earned rest!

Timeline

Time to quote for the works: Less than a week

Time taken to obtain Section 106 Licence from TW: 2 weeks

Time taken to obtain Section 50 Licence from Highways: 4 weeks – included talks between us and Highways regards traffic management, suspended parking bays, and we also had a site meeting with the representative from Highways

Leadtime to use S50 Licence: 6 weeks

Time taken to do the work: 8 days

Total time: 15 weeks

Do you need a sewer connection needs doing? Click here to enquire.

Don’t leave it too late for a sewer connection, most people do! Read our article here: How long does it take to do a sewer connection?

Click here to see more of our case studies.

S278 Works & Sewer Connection, Kettering

Projects

S278 Works & Sewer Connection, Case Study, Kettering

We were delighted to undertake these works for longstanding customer of ours, Parrott Construction

Objective

Our objective was to facilitate Section 278 works and an Anglian Water sewer connection, for an affordable housing development in Kettering, Northants. Our customer was Parrott Construction, a long standing customer of ours, established way back in 1958…!

About the project

The bulk of the admin work had already been done by our customer, including drawings and design, which had all been approved by Highways. But even with this process complete, we had to start the process of applying for roadspace and organising traffic management etc. With the width of the road in mind and the space we needed to carry out the works, we agreed a road closure with Northants Highways. However, as there was no footpath on the other side of the road, we had to allocate 1.2m of the road for a pedestrian walkway. We also had to apply for a Section 50 Licence, to connect to the public sewer, although the work would be carried out under the same traffic management as the S278 works.

With the road closed and the pedestrian walkway set up, we broke out and removed all of the old footpath, including the kerbs and kerb brace, in preparation for full construction of the new footpath and kerbs.

Type 1 MOT was laid to the correct specification as required by Northants Highways, new kerbs laid and the base course laid for the new footpath.

As well as the Section 278 works, we also installed a connection to the public sewer for the new properties. This was for foul only, with the surface water having been taken care of within the site boundaries by our customer. As with all the sewer connections we undertake, we liaise with Anglian Water from start to finish including arranging all inspections and final sign-off.

Both the base course and the 6mm topping was laid by hand, due to the nature of the works. The road closure was taken down within hours of our work having being completed, and the site cleared the next day. Our work was inspected by Highways two weeks later and passed in its entirety. The works on the site were completed by our customer within days of our own work being done, and tenants were in within a week of all work being completed. It was great to work on this exciting, local project, and for a customer with whom we have had such a great and longstanding relationship.

For any similar works or for any general groundwork enquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us. And click here to read more of our case studies.

Aftercare for Treatment Plants

Aftercare for treatment plants, servicing, what JW Clark can help with afterwards… and what we can’t help with…..!

The Three Ps

With any sewerage system, including when you are connected to the public sewer, you should never be putting any waste into your system apart from Pee, Poo and Paper…..! But with a Treatment Plant in particular, if you don’t observe the Three Ps (see here) then you’re quickly going to run into trouble – and avoidable cost – with your Treatment Plant. You might have to do a bit of educating the rest of the household, including kids and teenagers in particular. They may well be used to throwing wet wipes, sanitary towels and many other prohibited items down the toilet, and it’s difficult to change habits, but if these ‘naughties’ end up in your treatment plant then it’s going to cause you trouble and cost you money. You may need to put signs up at each toilet for a period, to get people used to these basic rules.

Treatment Plant Servicing

Having had your treatment plant installed, it’s important to keep on top of maintenance and servicing. The Environment Agency requires that small sewage treatment systems are maintained and serviced in line with the manufacturer’s guidance. See the official General Binding Rules for small sewage discharges on GOV.UK for the exact duty to maintain and service your system (including keeping records): General Binding Rules – small sewage discharge to the ground.

For a plain‑English overview of good ownership and maintenance practices, DEFRA’s leaflet is also helpful: Your sewage, your environment (DEFRA leaflet, July 2015).

We don’t service Treatment Plants ourselves, but we generally recommend UK Pump Maintenance. You can also find a list of accredited service engineers on the British Water website. Or, simply do a quick Google search for a local specialist.

In between regular services done by a third party, you should also keep an eye on the plant yourself—in particular the blower (also commonly referred to as the compressor or air pump).
Your blower, whether internal (inside the treatment plant) or external (in a green hood outside the treatment plant), should be running continuously, delivering a steady stream of air into the plant.

To check that an internal blower is working, you should normally be able to hear it when stood right next to the manhole cover central to the Treatment Plant – normally black or green, and 2ft square. If you can’t hear it, then you should normally be able to feel some vibration by putting your foot on the manhole cover, or by putting your hand on it. **

To check an external blower: place your hand on the green hood that houses the blower. You should hear/feel it working—often more obviously than an internal blower.

This ideally needs doing once a week, maybe do it on a Saturday morning, for example, or if you have a gardener or a handyman, make it their job to do it. But it’s your duty to make sure the Treatment Plant is cleaning the waste to the required standard to discharge into land drainage or into a watercourse, and if the blower isn’t working, then this is going to quickly reduce the extent to which the Treatment Plant is working effectively.

If you don’t think the blower is working, or if you can’t feel or hear it from outside, then take the main lid* off the Treatment Plant, and you should see the liquid fizzing or bubbling towards the top. If the liquid is stagnant and undisturbed, then the blower is likely not working. In the first instance, check that the electric feed to the Plant is working, consult an electrician if you need to, and if the feed is not the problem, then you will need a service engineer to attend, to fix or more likely to replace the blower.

If the blower is less than 2 years old, then it will be under warranty, in which case please get in touch with us and we’ll contact the manufacturer for a replacement, in the event that we supplied the Treatment Plant as part of our service to you.

*When taking the manhole cover off a treatment plant, never do this on your own, always have another person with you. It goes without saying, that you should never enter a Treatment Plant, this is a confined space, and every care should be taken when taking off the cover.

Pump checks

If you have a pumped outlet, the ‘pump’ is a secondary thing that you are going to have to check regularly. This is not as easy as checking the blower, as the pump for the outlet only makes a noise when the level in the plant gets to a certain point, and when the pump kicks in for a short period.

On most Treatment Plants, we will normally install a ‘final manhole’ just before the waste enters the Treatment Plant – unless you already have one in close proximity. In the bottom ‘channel’ of this manhole, the waste where it flows into the Treatment Plant should be at a minimum level where it flows through the bottom of the manhole – the ‘channel’ – nothing more than an inch or so. If it’s particularly deep, a few inches deep or more, then it’s quite likely that the effluent isn’t pumping out. You’ll need a service engineer as quick as you can get somebody out, and again, if the system is less than two years old, then speak to us, as the pump will be under warranty.

Alarms (Marsh Industries plants: MAHLA & MAHLAPS)

For Marsh Industries treatment plants we typically offer two alarm options:

MAHLA – High‑Level Alarm
Triggers if the float switch senses a high liquid level (e.g., pump failure/blockage) and also if there’s a loss of mains power to the alarm. Includes internal battery backup so the alarm continues to operate during a power cut.
MAHLAPS – High‑Level + Loss‑of‑Air‑Pressure Alarm
As per MAHLA plus an additional pressure switch input to detect loss of compressor/air pressure (useful on aerated systems). Also monitors loss of mains power. Includes internal battery backup so the alarm continues to operate during a power cut.

Both units provide a visual beacon and audible sounder, with a mute button to silence the sounder while the beacon keeps flashing until the fault is cleared.

Why alarms matter (especially on pumped units):
If your pump stops, the plant can fill quickly and surcharge upstream. An alarm gives you early warning before there’s a spill or backup.

A note on power dependence

These alarms are normally mains‑powered, but they contain an internal battery/UPS designed to keep the alarm active for a period during a power outage. That means they can still warn of high level even if the site has lost power.

Practical tips

Test the alarm using the panel test/silence controls at handover and at service visits.
Keep the float and pressure lines free from debris/kinks and mounted as per the installer’s instructions.
If the alarm activates, treat it as urgent: reduce water use, check the electrical supply/isolator, and call a service engineer.

So to summarise, once we’ve completed your project and after we have left… we can help with:

Replacement of blowers and pumps within 2 years of installation – but if any of these have failed, always check the electric feed first, it’s more likely to be an electrical failure in the early days than a failed part.
Any problems relating to underground drainage pipework that we laid as part of your project
Problems with reinstatement, i.e. ground settling around the Plant within our original excavation

We cannot help with:

Regular servicing
Replacement of blowers and pumps after the initial 2-year warranty has expired
Problems with underground drainage pipework that we didn’t lay as part of your project
Electrical problems – except whereby we instructed the electrician to make the connection to the plant and the problem is with this small amount of electrical installation, as opposed to electrics within the property as a whole – and this is usually where the problem lies.

Of all the problems we have ever encountered with Treatment Plants after we’ve fitted them, by far the vast majority of them relate to lack of servicing, in particular when blowers or pumps fail and have been left unserviceable for a long period of time. Several Treatment Plants we have fitted, have never been serviced, many years after we complete the install. We’ve seen some real horror shows over the years, whereby customers who have neglected their treatment plants end up spending many thousands of pounds just to get them serviceable again. But if you can keep on top of those regular checks as detailed above, and if you have your Treatment Plant serviced once a year, then you shouldn’t have any problems.

For a brief video explaining how a Marsh Treatment Plant works, see below

How long does a sewer connection take?

Treatment Plant Installation, Finedon

Projects

Treatment Plant, Finedon, Case Study

We were approached by our customer in Finedon, Northants, who had a treatment plant already, but it was borderline-compliant, and in any case he wanted to move it as part of an extensive reorganisation and redesign of his garden.

Survey work in advance

As part of the initial survey we downloaded the local Water Authority Asset Plan to make sure there wasn’t a public sewer in the Highway, within the vicinity of the property. Quite often a customer will have a septic tank or treatment plant dating back many years, but a public sewer may have been laid in the Highway since. Under a new law that came into force in 2020, if a public sewer exists within a reasonable distance, you cannot install a treatment plant instead.

We also took some levels on site to ascertain the proposed treatment plant inlet and outlet depth, as these are determined by the levels of the existing underground drainage on site. With these to hand, we ordered the treatment plant from Marsh Industries, we’ve had a relationship with Marsh for over 20 years, and they are our go-to supplier for all treatment plants & pump chambers etc.

With the treatment plant dispersing into a watercourse, we had to make sure that we could get the fall by gravity, from the outlet on the treatment plant, to the watercourse. Unfortunately our survey put the outlet level at the very bottom of the watercourse, which would not have been suitable – in the event that the watercourse rises during wetter months, water from the watercourse would have flooded the treatment plant and put it beyond use until the water level went down again.

We installed an 8-person treatment plant, with the property being a 5-bed house. We were lucky enough to find the ground to be very dry, despite us being at the bottom of a hill and next to the stream. The excavation work was done on Day 1, and the treatment plant was delivered on Day 2. We concreted a base for it and installed the plant with a full concrete surround. The customer did not want to lose use of his sewerage system, and therefore we kept his old septic tank in operation for as long as we could whilst the work was being undertaken. The plant was in and concreted by the end of Day 4, after which we did the switchover and laid the pipework to the watercourse. On Day 5 the customer had his septic tank emptied one last time, after which we put it beyond use by filling it with inert material from the treatment plant excavation, and capping it off.

We instructed an electrician to commission the new plant, and as a pumped-outlet unit, it had an external blower under a green hood, for which we had to form a small concrete base. The electrician installed a feed to this concrete base, which in turn fed the blower within the hood arrangement. From here a second feed was laid into the plant, for the pumped outlet – when the level in the final chamber of the plant gets to a certain level it pumps out to the watercourse.

We installed a carbon vent for the plant, which we fixed vertically adjacent to the blower housing. With the new plant connected up and working, and the old septic tank decommissioned, we set to reinstate the areas of the garden where we had been working. The garden was being landscaped after this phase of the project, and so minimal reinstatement was required.

Our customer was kind enough to leave us a 5-star review on Google afterwards. Click here to see our Google reviews

Riverside Park, Higham Ferrers

Projects

Riverside Park, Higham Ferrers, Case Study

We were delighted to undertake these works for Higham Town Council in conjunction with North Northants Council

Objective

Our objective was to rejuvenate 400 metres of pathways that had become uneven and unsafe. The paths were put down many years ago with road plainings, and our job was to resurface with Type 1 MOT granite and granite dust

About the project

It was very important to the Council that we keep the park open for the duration of the works. The park sits between two housing estates and is used for more than just recreational use. With the weather being reasonably dry at the time, we opted to close short sections of the paths at a time, and divert people onto the grass. We put signage up and offered to assist people around our works should they require.

The paths had been laid at 1.5m wide originally, but some were down to less than a metre wide, with grass and vegetation having encroached in from both sides. Our first job was to scrape off the vegetation, and to hopefully find an existing path underneath, which hadn’t been contaminated too much. Generally the paths were okay, and in the main they just needed blinding with Type 1 MOT to smoothen out the levels.

We then applied a thin layer of 0-4mm granite dust to the paths, which we compacted in, with a ride-on roller. Lastly we laid topsoil and grass seed to either side of the paths.

There was also a small ‘bridge’ formed with railway sleepers, where a natural stream ran underneath, during wetter weather. We replaced this using oak timbers, to give it a long lifespan going forward. And on top of the timbers we fixed wire mesh, to stop them becoming slippery when wet.

It was a pleasure to carry out these works, on behalf of North Northamptonshire Council and Higham Ferrers Council, we had plenty of compliments at the end of the works, and it was great to work on this project on our doorstep and to have made such a cosmetic difference.

Re-concreting of cemetery footpaths, Irthlingborough

Projects

Re-concreting of footpaths, Case Study

Objective

To break out and remove old concrete footpaths and road within the cemetery, and to completely renew.

We were delighted to be doing this work for Irthlingborough Town Council at the cemetery, so close to where we all live. And it was a tad emotional for a lot of us, who live in Irthlingborough, and found ourselves to be surrounded by so many familiar names. The concrete paths around the cemetery and the main road were full of trip hazards and the only remedy was to take them all up and start again. We kept the cemetery open whilst we were carrying out the work, and helped people get about the cemetery where we could.

The old concrete paths were well-made, and some of them laid at about 5” or 6” thick, but our 6-tonne excavator soon broke them out and we took the waste away on our own grab lorry. We dug out the old sub-base and laid Type 1 Granite MOT on a geotextile membrane. Some of the paths were curved, so we used plastic fascia board to create the curved sides.

On the majority of the paths we used 4×2 timber to create a shutter on either side. We lifted these a bit higher than the new sub-base to leave 5” (125mm) for new concrete.

A long 150-metre stretch of the path had to be pumped with an overhead ‘boom pump’, which pumps it in from above. For the remainder of the paths we used a dumper truck to move the concrete into place. And when we concreted the road to the old chapel, the concrete lorries were able to drive down the already-prepared road. In total we poured 80 metres of RC40 concrete with fibres, a total of approx. 180 tonnes. With the paths and road concreted, we finished the sides with topsoil and grass seed.

With the job finished after a bit less than 3 weeks, we completlely opened up the cemetery to the general public. We believe the old concrete was in excess of 60 years old, and of course we hope the new concrete paths and road will last a lot longer than that!

Installation of service ducts and pipes, new build, Stagsden

Projects

Installation of service ducts and pipes, new build, Case Study

Having done the groundwork for this pair of new builds 6 months prior, we were asked to come back and lay various service pipes and ducts to each of the two plots.

Objective

To lay services for two new builds, including water pipes, electric ducts & BT ducts

We were delighted to be asked to return to this site to excavate for and lay water pipes, electric ducts and BT ducts from the boundary with the Highway, to the two new builds that we had done groundwork for previously. The groundwork was done 6 months prior and a builder had since got the two shells up and built.

We brought a couple of diggers to site, our favourite 3.7 tonne Kubota digger, and also its younger brother, the 1.5 tonne. One for digging and one for backfilling.

We laid the water pipes first, as these were deepest. Anglian Water had specified barrier pipe, due to the possible risk of the ground being contaminated. Unfortunately, water authorities used to occasionally ask for barrier pipe to be used if they suspected contaminated ground, but now it’s becoming the norm, unless you can prove your ground is not contaminated. We suggested to our customer that he send AW a ground survey that he’d had done previously, which he did. Although AW relented and said they’d allow him to use standard 32mm pipe for half of the 70m run, the other half had to be barrier pipe, due to the site having an agricultural history. Unfortunately, barrier pipe is a lot more expensive than standard MDPE pipe.

We laid these water pipes at a depth of 800mm cover (750mm is the minimum), in sand surround and with warning tape to cover. AW inspected the depths that the pipes had been laid at etc. With these laid, we put in a 125mm ribbed electric duct from the boundary with the Highway, to a location near the first plot. At this point we left an open hole for an electric joint to be done later, and from here we laid smaller 32mm black duct to the meter box on each plot. These too were laid in a sand surround, and with a different warning tape on top.

Lastly we laid a BT duct, this was a 90mm duct from the boundary with the Highway, to a position near the first plot, where we built a ‘No 4’ BT Box with pre-cast plastic sections, and finished with a frame and cover supplied by BT. From here we laid smaller 50mm ducts from this box to each plot, and these ducts were finished with warning tape as well.

A nice simple job for us, and nice and local to us as well. It was a pleasure to return to this site having done the groundwork previously. Click here to read a case study on the original groundwork project for this site.

And we were delighted to have received a 5-star Google review from our customer for this job!