Another fosse question re biofilm and washing machine

[JohnRoss]

While investigating a recently persistent wet patch on the lawn I have

discovered that the pipe for waste water from our utility room, sink and washing

machine, goes not to the fosse toutes eaux but to a soakaway consisting of a

trench filled with rubble. Where the pipe meets the trench there is a lot of

slimy almost black substance, washing machine biofilm, which is clearly clogging

up the trench causing the water to bubble up to the surface. Tests have shown

that all other waste water from the house, toilets, bathroom and kitchen sink

etc, goes into the fosse. It maybe that there was originally a fosse septique

and I gather that soakaways could then be used for some grey water but this pipe

was not rerouted for some reason when the fosse toutes eaux was installed by the

previous owner.

 

I could easily reroute this pipe to the fosse but I wonder what effect it

would have on the filter beds which receive the output water from the fosse. I

would hate for them to become clogged as this soakaway has done. Maybe the

failure to route this pipe to the fosse was deliberate if washing

machine soapy water does tend to clog things up! As an alternative I could dig a

new soakaway but I gather this might infringe some regulation or other though I

don't see much difference between feeding it to a fosse and then to a gravel

filter bed or directly to a soakaway.

Thoughts?.......................JR