Soakaway Testing

Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS 25) “Development and Flood Risk” encourages the use of sustainable drainage systems for all proposed construction work. We recommend that, where possible and practicable, a client should consider commissioning soak away testing to investigate the porosity of the ground and provide design information for drainage systems. Advice on a sites suitability for soak aways can be confirmed within a phase 1 preliminary site investigation.

GeoCon undertake soak away testing to enable our clients to design appropriate sustainable drainage systems. The soak away test involves excavating a trial pit, filing the trial pit with water, recording the water level at specific time intervals in to establish the drainage rate, then repeating a total of three times in accordance with BRE 365 Soak away Design.

Not all soils types are suitable for soak aways and this can be identified in any good phase 1 preliminary site investigation.

In order to carry out soak away testing at any site GeoCon require access for a JCB 3CX or similar excavator. To reduce costs the client may wish to source their own excavator. In addition, GeoCon would need to hire in a large water tanker which would provide enough water to fill the proposed soak away pits. On site water sources are generally unsuitable because they cannot fill the pits at a fast enough rate to allow the test to be performed accurately

For further information and details regarding pricing, please enquire using either of the phone numbers or the email address at the top of this site or via the contact page.