Fosse inspection

[Acoustic]

We have just received a letter from our water company (Saur) to say they are coming next Thursday to inspect our fosse "and advise us on conforming to standards".  This was apparently mooted for the whole village some two years ago but we have only been here a few months and don't quite know what they are going to be looking for or might recommend.  We were just about to have our fosses emptied (we have one for the loos and another for grey water) and don't know whether we should now wait.  Does anyone have any experience of these inspections please?

[woolybananasbrother]

best if emptied first with proper certificate to prove it

 

[Clair]

[quote user="Acoustic"]We have just received a letter from our water company (Saur) to say they are coming next Thursday to inspect our fosse "and advise us on conforming to standards".  [...] Does anyone have any experience of these inspections please?[/quote]

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1176620/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/860531/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1/1016928/ShowPost.aspx#1016928

[Belle]

We recieved a letter last year to say that the inspector was coming to inspect the fosse after Sept 9th (2007) we are still waiting, do you think we can assume he isn't coming, or that his sat nav has taken him on the fastest route, and not the shortest.

[Postie]

We had letter from Lyonnaise water to say they were coming to inspect the fosse at our new property - they arrived on time & sent a report back within 10 days, it basically said the fosse was useless, which we knew when we bought the property!!  They also charged us just under 30 Euros for the pleasure  [:'(]. We did say we were having an Etude de Filliere (another 350E[:'(]  [:'(] ) done but they insisted that the whole hamlet had to have a Lyonnaise survey done & had to cough up the 30E.

[Ron Avery]

Round here you pay 50€ if they turn up to do the inspection, if you ask for an inspection its free, but you have to then do any work required to bring your system up to standard.  These inspections are going on across France, nobody is being picked on.  There are also other threads about this here

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1302647/ShowPost.aspx

We have a lady SPANCer[:D]

[andyps]

We had one in October 06 and were told that everything was OK except we would have to install a grease trap before the next visit in 4 years time and having had the fosse emptied that summer we would have to have it emptied again 4 years later. We were surprised they said it was ok as we only have a 1000ltr fosse in a house which will have 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not complaining though!

It cost us €50 for the inspection. We did get a letter in May saying they were coming for an inspection but after a phone call to say we had been done they didn't come. That is Saur in Finistere.

[zeb]

[quote user="andyps"]

......... We were surprised they said it was ok as we only have a 1000ltr fosse in a house which will have 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not complaining though!

[/quote]

Just wondering how you got your planning ap passed if your fosse septique isn't big enough for the job?

[Scooby]

We had our inspection in June.  They just wandered around, established where the tank was and where it drained to, took a sample of the soil type and told us it didn't conform (which we already knew!).  We had to sign a form to confirm that we had been advised that it didn't conform and to agree to have it upgraded within two years of the date of the visit. 

We are hoping to install a pool eventually but want to hold off on that as long as possible (running costs don't really justify the use we will have from it) but we will probably now have the pool done at the same time as the fosse.  Doesn't seem any point digging up the garden twice - may as well do it all in one hit...in about 1 year 10 months time!

The frustrating thing is that our hamlet is going to mains drainage - but our house is just a few yards too far away from the other houses in the hamlet for them to take the drains as far as our house.  I think it will be quite some months before our main drainage is installed. The next village have already had their new drains installed - so things seem to be progressing at different speeds according to where you live.  I believe some of the cost of the drains has to be borne by the commune - and it is the level of these costs (and available funds in the commune) that seem to determine the decision as to who gets mains and who has to stay on a fosse (albeit upgraded).

[Clair]

[quote user="Scooby"]The frustrating thing is that our hamlet is going to mains drainage - but our house is just a few yards too far away from the other houses in the hamlet for them to take the drains as far as our house.  I think it will be quite some months before our main drainage is installed. The next village have already had their new drains installed - so things seem to be progressing at different speeds according to where you live.  I believe some of the cost of the drains has to be borne by the commune - and it is the level of these costs (and available funds in the commune) that seem to determine the decision as to who gets mains and who has to stay on a fosse (albeit upgraded).[/quote]

If it's only a few yards, would it be worth your while sharing or carrying the costs of extending the pipes to your house?

[sid]

[quote user="zeb"] .....if your fosse septique isn't big enough for the job? [/quote]  [:-))]

Is that a number one or a number two? [blink]

Sid

[Scooby]

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Scooby"]The frustrating thing is that our hamlet is going to mains drainage - but our house is just a few yards too far away from the other houses in the hamlet for them to take the drains as far as our house.  I think it will be quite some months before our main drainage is installed. The next village have already had their new drains installed - so things seem to be progressing at different speeds according to where you live.  I believe some of the cost of the drains has to be borne by the commune - and it is the level of these costs (and available funds in the commune) that seem to determine the decision as to who gets mains and who has to stay on a fosse (albeit upgraded).[/quote]

If it's only a few yards, would it be worth your while sharing or carrying the costs of extending the pipes to your house?

[/quote]

We asked when they were doing the visit and they refused.  Apparently the cost to bring it to us they said would be too much and they wouldn't consider us sharing the cost with our neighbour (who is building a new place further up the road) because they said we couldn't have a shared drain in case anything went wrong - so we're stuck with a fosse.

[andyps]

[quote user="zeb"][quote user="andyps"]

......... We were surprised they said it was ok as we only have a 1000ltr fosse in a house which will have 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not complaining though!

[/quote]

Just wondering how you got your planning ap passed if your fosse septique isn't big enough for the job?

[/quote]

 

We aren't actually building, just rearranging the space we have inside the house. It is quite strange in our area, we had no problems at all getting the water switched on to our house which had not had any use for at least 10 years and therefore probably no water switched on in that time, yet we know of someone nearby but controlled by a different Mairie who were not allowed water until they installed a Fosse and another who had to replace the Fosse in a house which had been occupied up to 6 months earlier. As I said, not complaining, just like so many things regarding our house I am confused!!