Any experience of borehole deep soakaways?

[Michael Kilpatrick]

Following on from my posting a few days ago regarding the lovely clay
sump that appears to be developing in my garden, I'm wondering if the
best means of ensuring proper ground drainage (and the substantial roof
draining which overflows from the rain harvester when it's full, as it
has been all year!) would be to have a borehole drilled through to a
permeable strata and remove the high water table from the clay in the
vicinity of the rain harvester and soakaway (which are seven or so
metres away from the house).

Whittlesford (CB22) is in an area of patches of loam and gravel (and the
courses of ancient rivers which have all gone apart from the
Cam/Granta). There is apparently chalk down there somewhere, but I've
got no idea how far. There are several former gravel pits around here
but there may not necessarily be gravel in our garden.

Has anyone here had experience of having a borehole soakway drilled for
them?

Michael

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:37:11 +0100, Michael Kilpatrick
<ne...@mkilpatrick.cospam.uk> wrote:

>Has anyone here had experience of having a borehole soakway drilled for
>them?

No, but I have a borehole for sale, if you're interested. Buyer
collects, as it's too big to post.

You could have a word with a farmer who will point you to a
well-driller locally who will know the formations under your feet.
Even they get it wrong though, so be prepared for a cost and more cost
if the first one doesn't work.

[Simon Kelley]

On 18/10/12 13:37, Michael Kilpatrick wrote:
> Whittlesford (CB22) is in an area of patches of loam and gravel (and the
> courses of ancient rivers which have all gone apart from the
> Cam/Granta). There is apparently chalk down there somewhere, but I've
> got no idea how far.

^^^^^^^^

Well, on the other side of the A505 in Duxford, the chalk is about a
spade-length down, if you're lucky, so it's likely not far away.
Needless to say, we have no problems getting our soak-aways to, erm,
soak away!


Simon.

[Andrew Mawson]

"Michael Kilpatrick" wrote in message
news:xeednQiyN69lauLN...@brightview.co.uk...

You'll be a bit bu@@@d if it's an artesian strata and water comes up from it
<G>

AWEM

[amc...@hotmail.com]

On Thursday, October 18, 2012 1:37:13 PM UTC+1, Michael Kilpatrick wrote:
> Following on from my posting a few days ago regarding the lovely clay
>
> sump that appears to be developing in my garden, I'm wondering if the
>
> best means of ensuring proper ground drainage (and the substantial roof
>
> draining which overflows from the rain harvester when it's full, as it
>
> has been all year!) would be to have a borehole drilled through to a
>
> permeable strata and remove the high water table from the clay in the

I doubt that it's allowed. The aquifers are cold and clean, shoving ground water into them will introduce vegetation and insects. Even if there's no regulations, I'd suspect the water borne solids would soon clog up the permeable surface of the bore hole. I don't know though, let us know.

[Michael Kilpatrick]

On 18/10/2012 15:17, Simon Kelley wrote:
> On 18/10/12 13:37, Michael Kilpatrick wrote:
>> Whittlesford (CB22) is in an area of patches of loam and gravel (and the
>> courses of ancient rivers which have all gone apart from the
>> Cam/Granta). There is apparently chalk down there somewhere, but I've
>> got no idea how far.
> ^^^^^^^^
>
> Well, on the other side of the A505 in Duxford, the chalk is about a
> spade-length down, if you're lucky, so it's likely not far away.

That's what I would have thought. It's really only a question of whether
we hit sand or gravel before we get to the chalk, surely.

Michael

[Michael Kilpatrick]

On 18/10/2012 13:37, Michael Kilpatrick wrote:
>
> Has anyone here had experience of having a borehole soakway drilled for
> them?
>

Golly, I emailed a company (Ipswich based) earlier this afternoon and
they've already replied by email with an estimate! It includes
references to the chalk outcrops near the A505 so they already know the
area.

Estimate is £1850.

Michael

[Gazz]

"Michael Kilpatrick" <ne...@mkilpatrick.cospam.uk> wrote in message
news:m92dnc18jd5pvx3N...@brightview.co.uk...

Time to get the trusty SDS out and the biggest and longest bits you can find
for it then :)

I have been thinking of something like this for my garden for years, clay
about 1/2 a foot down, whole garden floods except the bit near next doors
conservatory,
That's because his conservatory footings are over 7 feet deep, to get
through the clay and to better soil, garden drains lovely there, so i know
how far i'd need to drill in my case,

i keep meaning to find out how much fo hire a bore hole drill for a weekend,
one of those on a stand/A-frame with hydraulic up and down controls, rather
than the arm breaker hand held jobbies,
Just not sure if i could keep the hole from collapsing on it's self long
enough to get the auger out and some of that perforated culvert pipe down
the hole, then fill with large gravel and a larger area of gravel and a
membrane around the top foot of the bore hole.

[Andrew Mawson]

"Gazz" wrote in message news:k5pbdu$8cs$1...@dont-email.me...

If it's only 7 foot down, then far more economic to get a digger in to dig a
broad trench down to the chalk and fill it with hardcore with a soil cap
over Terram membrane.

AWEM

[The Natural Philosopher]

+1

> AWEM


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

[Tim Lamb]

In message <b4c137ba-5a26-49ce...@googlegroups.com>,
amc...@hotmail.com writes

Yes.

Consent will be needed from the EA and their first concern will be
mixing water bodies.
>
>
>

--
Tim Lamb

[Gazz]

>> If it's only 7 foot down, then far more economic to get a digger in to
>> dig a broad trench down to the chalk and fill it with hardcore with a
>> soil cap over Terram membrane.

Unfortunately the cost of getting a digger lifted over the house into the
garden makes that a fairly expensive option,

[Onetap]

I still don't think it will work for long. Even a conventional soak-away needs to be dug out every few years when it has been clogged by soil and vegetation washed into it. You can't do that with a borehole. I'm sure they know what they're doing and that is not just getting your money.

[borehole...@gmail.com]

I drill deep bore soakaways for a living. If anyone wants to know the geology beneath their property, send me an email with your postcode and I'll check it out for you.

[borehole...@gmail.com]

A deep bore soakaway is left 1 metre above the base of the water collection chamber which allows silt and clay to harmlessly settle at the bottom of the chamber, rather than enter the deep bore. The top of the installation is also fitted with a syphon head which stops any floating debris entering the deep bore, but freely allows water to enter.

[Tim Watts]

On Thursday 07 November 2013 10:59 borehole...@gmail.com wrote in uk.d-
i-y:

> I drill deep bore soakaways for a living. If anyone wants to know the
> geology beneath their property, send me an email with your postcode and
> I'll check it out for you.

Why? So you can spam us by email too?

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

[Tim Watts]

On Thursday 07 November 2013 11:09 borehole...@gmail.com wrote in uk.d-
i-y:

Don't the EA get pissed off if you pour surface water into the water
aquifers directly?

[Onetap]

On Thursday, November 7, 2013 11:09:25 AM UTC, borehole...@gmail.com wrote:
> A deep bore soakaway is left 1 metre above the base of the water collection chamber which allows silt and clay to harmlessly settle at the bottom of the chamber, rather than enter the deep bore. The top of the installation is also fitted with a syphon head which stops any floating debris entering the deep bore, but freely allows water to enter.

You'd still have suspended particles which would slowly block the permeable media at the bottom of the soak away.
You'd have to put the water through a sand filter to get most of that out.
I noticed that you didn't put your company/trading name on your post.
Are the EA aware of the services you offer?

[borehole...@gmail.com]

The deep bore soakaway is drilled many metres into the permeable strata and so has a large surface area intersecting many fractures. The deep bore soakaway is fitted with a siphon head to prevent debris entering the installation. Suspended particle within the water have never caused any issues such as silting up.
Yes we do liaise with the Environment Agency.
I didn't put our company name so that we don't get accused of spamming. Was only trying to help anyone who wanted to know the geology beneath their property.

[Tony Bryer]

On Tue, 31 Dec 2013 10:47:46 -0800 (PST) Borehole...@gmail.com wrote :
> I didn't put our company name so that we don't get accused of spamming.
> Was only trying to help anyone who wanted to know the geology beneath
> their property.

Your reticence is appreciated but do note that the FAQ gives genuine
contributors to the group the chance to identify themselves:

"Company representatives (who are often valued experts) are welcome to
suggest their products where a genuine question has been asked on the
subject, but only if they answer the questions put (planted questions will
be obvious). Company representatives may mention their products, services
or websites in the signature of their replies to questions. (please keep
signatures to under five 75-character lines)."

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/about.html#adfaq

--
Tony Bryer, Greentram: 'Software to build on',
Melbourne, Australia www.greentram.com

[borehole...@gmail.com]

There is no permeable media at the bottom of the soakaway to get "blocked". An example borehole would be 15 metres of impermeable clay overlying a permeable strata such as chalk. The borehole is advanced through the impermeable clay and then advanced 10 metres into the permeable strata, this intersects many fissures within the upper chalk. An H.D.P.E. liner is then installed inside the borehole with a minimum internal diameter of 100mm. The liner is perforated in the permeable strata and plain casing is used to line the impermeable clay. The perforated liner is then surrounded with a gravel pack, the plain casing is surrounded with bentonite grout which provides a permanent seal to prevent any potential contamination finding its way down the outside of the installation. A syphon head is fitted to the top of the installation to prevent any floating debris from entering the deep bore soakaway installation.
Many new builds are now not allowed to connect to the mains drainage and have to provide their own solution to drainage. In circumstances where no other viable drainage solution can be found, this is a cost effective solution that provides excellent results, drainage in excess of 10 litres per second can easily be achieved.
A few contributors seem to be under the misconception that the Environment Agency are against this type of installation. The Environment Agency consider each application to discharge water underground on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the strata that the water Is being discharged into, where the water table is in relation to the discharge zone, and any potential for surface contamination finding its way into the aquifer. There are many circumstances where the Environment Agency have granted permission for discharge directly into an aquifer.
I have been drilling for 40 years and have never had a client come back to me and say that the soakaway has failed.
We are only a local company operating in the South East of England. Although we don't cover any other areas, but I am perfectly happy to take a look at the geology of any location in mainland UK and give free advice as to whether this could be a solution worth pursuing. We have been to many properties where ground workers have installed very expensive land drainage schemes which simply don't work, or fail within a few years.
I have added a link to our website which has a lot of useful information on this subject, but if admin feels that this is spamming, please feel free to delete the link.

Mark Carpenter www.borehole-driller.co.uk

[fred]

In article <316bd0ca-e95e-4a2e...@googlegroups.com>,
borehole...@gmail.com writes

<useful information snipped>

>I have added a link to our website which has a lot of useful information on this
>subject, but if admin feels that this is spamming, please feel free to delete the link.
>
>Mark Carpenter www.borehole-driller.co.uk

As Tony points out, relevant contributions from commercial operators
replying to calls for help on this group are welcome but it might help
to understand the medium to which you are contributing.

This medium is usenet aka newsgroups, their main purpose is for
immediate discussion of interests, issues and concerns. It is normal to
consider a discussion thread to be dead after 30days or so as responses
after that time are no longer relevant to the poster's problem, they'll
either have solved it or moved on since then and the 'news' element will
have expired.

For that reason, responding to old posts is considered bad form,
particularly one as old as 14 months as this original post was.

Many professionals contribute here, most are very discrete about it and
only mention their businesses when it really would help the original
poster.

They normally do this in a 'signature' field at the end of the post
which is created by typing:

<dash><dash><space>
followed by up to four lines of information, which can include company
details if desired

This signature will be present on your message but will be automatically
snipped on further replies to save space.

The mechanism by which you are accessing this group (Google groups) is a
useful resource but the archive search is really meant to be read only,
it is google's lack of understanding of the system that allows their
users to ritually necromance long dead threads into unintended life
which is generally unwelcome.


Please keep a look out for the thread/post dates though and limit
replies to an age to 30-60 days, I look forward to your future
contributions.

Hope that helps.

--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

[tony sayer]

In article <+WkPpZDw9+wSFw18@y.z>, fred <n...@for.mail> scribeth thus

Dunno if it is. If you were the OP wouldn't you be rather thankful that
someone who does know something about an obscure subject has
responded?..

>
>
>Please keep a look out for the thread/post dates though and limit
>replies to an age to 30-60 days, I look forward to your future
>contributions.
>
>Hope that helps.
>

Yes but very useful all the same, dint know that we've had bore-hole
drillers here before, most interesting:)...

--
Tony Sayer

[fred]

In article <h$vLx0AAT...@bancom.co.uk>, tony sayer
<to...@bancom.co.uk> writes

>In article <+WkPpZDw9+wSFw18@y.z>, fred <n...@for.mail> scribeth thus
>>In article <316bd0ca-e95e-4a2e...@googlegroups.com>,
>>borehole...@gmail.com writes
>>

>>The mechanism by which you are accessing this group (Google groups) is a
>>useful resource but the archive search is really meant to be read only,
>>it is google's lack of understanding of the system that allows their
>>users to ritually necromance long dead threads into unintended life
>>which is generally unwelcome.
>
>Dunno if it is. If you were the OP wouldn't you be rather thankful that
>someone who does know something about an obscure subject has
>responded?..
>>

You missed where I said generally then :-)

Except in exceptional circumstances, a year is too late to be of use to
the original poster.

>Yes but very useful all the same, dint know that we've had bore-hole
>drillers here before, most interesting:)...
>

Agreed and the timely reply to a recent and relevant post is most
welcome.

[alexjk...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, November 7, 2013 10:59:36 AM UTC, borehole...@gmail.com wrote:
> I drill deep bore soakaways for a living. If anyone wants to know the geology beneath their property, send me an email with your postcode and I'll check it out for you.

Hi

I am looking at a borehole soakaway as I have a tanked basement but it has started to get groundwater flooding due this weather and someone suggested a soakaway next to the property

My postcode is SL6 7AZ - any ideas?

Thanks
Alex

[harryagain]

<alexjk...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:592ae9c3-4c51-4139...@googlegroups.com...

This weather, a soakaway is unlikely to work, the ground will be as soggy as
that around/below your cellar.
A borehole is likely just to fill up with water.

[Vir Campestris]

On 09/02/2014 12:16, alexjk...@gmail.com wrote:
> I am looking at a borehole soakaway as I have a tanked basement but it has started to get groundwater flooding due this weather and someone suggested a soakaway next to the property

If the ground water is flooding into the basement it will also fill any
soakaway.

Andy

[Bill]

In message <ld8q4b$uoi$1...@news.albasani.net>, Vir Campestris
<vir.cam...@invalid.invalid> writes

What do the panel think about drilling multiple boreholes around the
building, extracting the water from them and disposing of it. So
keeping the water table lower and away from the cellar walls.

I'm thinking back to when the Mersey tunnels were first built, according
to something I read years ago there was a lot of private extraction in
Liverpool at the time and the table was low. When industry moved away
and also mains water was universal they had to add extra pumps to the
tunnels to keep pace with the rise in the table.

So would it work on a smaller scale?
--
Bill

[newshound]

Surely better to put a sump at a suitable point in the basement with a
single submersible pump.

[Bill]

In message <L4adnTvRgumhYWrP...@brightview.co.uk>,
newshound <news...@stevejqr.plus.com> writes

Having been involved in 3 attempts, 3rd being relatively successful, to
tank a cellar I would much rather take the water away before it got any
where near it!

--
Bill

[dennis@home]

On 09/02/2014 21:59, Bill wrote:

I have seen american houses where the basement is kept dry by doing a
similar thing, A land drain around the periphery to get rid of the
ground water and no damp proofing.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It is a standard way to do it with some buildings. Float switch and a pump.

Better us to do as I have here if possible

Trench round the property/ fill with hard core + a perf pipe and gravel
top/ + a drain pipe going to Somewhere Lower.

[Sam Plusnet]

In article <ld93m0$h7m$2...@news.albasani.net>, t...@invalid.invalid says...

> It is a standard way to do it with some buildings. Float switch and a pump.
>
> Better us to do as I have here if possible
>
> Trench round the property/ fill with hard core + a perf pipe and gravel
> top/ + a drain pipe going to Somewhere Lower.
>
>

Note: Offers of "Somewhere Lower" are subject to availability.


--
Sam

[The Natural Philosopher]

Advice to people at the bottom of a hole...

Stop digging :-)

[Muddymike]

Your talking about "de-watering" which has been used in civil engineering
for years.
Its not uncommon to protect domestic property in this way, depending on the
subsoil conditions. It's usually done by digging a trench all the way around
the property with perforated pipe at the bottom falling to one man hole. The
trench is them filled with gravel.

Depending on ground conditions the manhole is then emptied by a pump or a
single borehole down to porous sub strata.

Mike

[newshound]

If you know which direction the water is coming from (e.g. from a
spring) you can target your borehole. Otherwise you might have to ring
the property, go down to a depth of several times the property width,
and of course have a pump in every borehole. Sounds expensive to me
compared to a sump.

[Vir Campestris]

On 10/02/2014 08:54, Muddymike wrote:
> Depending on ground conditions the manhole is then emptied by a pump or
> a single borehole down to porous sub strata.

I doubt there will be any porous strata in the OP's area which aren't
already full of water. He's near the Thames.

Andy

[borehole...@gmail.com]

The elevation above sea level at your location is 32.50 metres A.O.D. The expected geology would be drift deposits (Clay and Flints) over lying sand and gravel, and then Chalk. The gravel layer is probably water bearing and will no doubt be causing the problem. Chalk should be encountered at a depth of between 3 and 6 metres. The standing water level in the chalk would be between 9 and 10 metres below ground level. The chances of a successful deep bore soakaway at this location can be considered to be very good.

[borehole...@gmail.com]

It would depend on the geology at depth, but I have seen properties surrounded by a French drain with a deep bore soakaway emptying the water collected in the French drain to a lower geology. Usually only 1 borehole would be required.

[borehole...@gmail.com]

Even in areas such as near the Thames. You need to bear in mind that the the surrounding geology is alluvial deposits, over Terrace Gravels and then the London Clay. Water within the terrace gravels is in continuity with the Thames, so with the recent rainfall the levels will be high, if not overflowing. The water level within the Chalk aquifer is at a much lower level and is sealed from the aquifer in the terrace gravels by means of impermeable geology, namely the London Clay, Woolwich and Reading Beds and Thanet Sands. The two aquifers are therefore at different levels and not in direct continuity. It would therefore be possible to discharge into the chalk aquifer with the Environment Agency's permission.

[Onetap]

On Wednesday, January 1, 2014 9:36:50 AM UTC, borehole...@gmail.com wrote:
> There is no permeable media at the bottom of the soakaway to get "blocked". An example borehole would be 15 metres of impermeable clay overlying a permeable strata such as chalk.

The 'permeable media' that I meant is the permeable chalk strata into which you would be tipping ground water.

The ground water will contain suspended solid particles. I would expect the chalk to become blocked by this over some time, acting as a filter would.

I don't know how you could clear such an accumulation of material.

[borehole...@gmail.com]

A deep bore soakaway is fitted with a syphon head a metre above the base of the attenuation chamber. The soakaway intersects many fractures within the chalk and blocking up with silt is highly unlikely. In installations that are water bearing, the installation can be cleaned out with a borehole pump, but we have never found this to be needed.