septic tanks
Septic tank sizes
In the UK, a house not connected to the mains/sewers will require treatment using one of the following solutions:
- Septic tank
- Sewage treatment plant
- Cesspool
- Non-standard system such as reed bed
In any such case, you, as the homeowner, are responsible for meeting the general binding rules.
To make sure your septic tank works as it is designed to, it needs to be capable of handling the flow of effluent that your premise is producing.
How to determine septic tank size?
Step 1: Determine “P” (Minimum Population) from the number of bedrooms you have.
*Reference: Flows & Loads from British Water
**Please note that the abbreviation for Minimum Population is “P”.
Small one and two-bedroom houses or flats
- Flat with one bedroom = minimum 3P system
- Flat with two bedrooms = minimum 4P system
Single house
Up to and including three bedrooms: P = 5, add 1 P for each bedroom thereafter.
- House with three bedrooms = minimum 5P system
- House with four bedrooms = minimum 6P system (5+1)
- House with five bedrooms = minimum 7P system (5+2)
- House with six bedrooms = minimum 8P system (5+3)
*Reference: Flows & loads from British Water for larger domestic housing, commercial and industrial premises.
Step 2: Calculate the number of litres of wastewater produced per day
Example: three bedrooms house = 5P (see step 1)
5 P x 150L = 750L per day
Step 3: Add 2,000L to your litres produced per day
Therefore, the minimum size septic tank required for this example is 2,750L.
Choosing the correct size septic tank
Given the choice, it’s recommended to round up the tank size required. If a septic tank is too small, your soakaway system will suffer as a result. If insufficient settlement time occurs, small suspended solids might block your soakaway. In which case, you will have to replace it or convert to a new sewage treatment unit.
Septic tank size calculator
| Number of bedrooms | P | Minimum size of a septic tank | Tricel recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2450 | Tricel Vento 6 |
| 2 | 4 | 2600 | Tricel Vento 6 |
| 3 | 5 | 2750 | Tricel Vento 6 |
| 4 | 6 | 2900 | Tricel Vento 6 |
| 5 | 7 | 3050 | Tricel Vento 12 |
| 6 | 8 | 3200 | Tricel Vento 12 |
| 7 | 9 | 3350 | Tricel Vento 12 |
| 8 | 10 | 3500 | Tricel Vento 12 |
| 9 | 11 | 3650 | Tricel Vento 12 |
| 10 | 12 | 3800 | Tricel Vento 12 |
For P greater than 12, please refer to the flows & loads from British Water.
For larger projects, Tricel Vento 20 is also available. Contact us to find out more.
Regulation of septic tanks
Contact us to discuss your project or if you’re thinking of upgrading with a brand new septic tank or switch to a sewage treatment plant.
View Tricel Vento brochure
Get in touch if you have questions or need further information
Quality
Strong & robust shallow dig tank. No electrical or moving parts
Fast delivery
UK manufactured ensuring short lead time
Certified
Tricel Vento is certified to EN12566-1
Get in touch
Tricel Environment UK
A trading brand of Dewey Waters Ltd.
Heritage Works, Winterstoke Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 9AN, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0)1934 422 311