The UK has many rural areas. These areas are beautiful but do come with some practical problems, such as how to safely dispose of human waste. This is because the homes that are situated in the countryside or are built on the outskirts of quite a rural town are probably not plumbed to a public sewer system. Their waste is therefore is diverted into something called a septic tank or cesspool. The cesspool is a collection point for sewage until it can be safely removed by the local council. A Lambeth Plumber has experience dealing with such tanks.Cesspool:Building regulations state that any cesspool needs a minimum capacity of 18,000ltrs (4000 gallons), however, lots of cesspools have less and need emptying every couple of weeks. Water authorities estimate a usage of approximately 115ltrs (25 gallons) per person per day.Septic Tank:The septic tank is the complete waste disposal system where the sewage is attacked and broken down by bacterial action and the resulting water is finally discharged into a safe location. Tank waste separates very slowly with a heavy sludge falling to the bottom of the tank leaving fairly clear water, with scum floating on the top. Any waste drops below the surface, so that any incoming water cannot stir up the sewage. Lambeth Plumbers are experienced in the running of a septic tank. The action of microbes will take around 24 hours, so the tank has baffles to slow down the movement of sewage through it. Partially treated waste leaves the tank into a form of filtration system for further bacterial action. It may be a second chamber, with a filter bed, or may flow underground via a network of drains, that disperse the water over a large area to filter through the soil. There are new modern purpose built waste treatment plants that are electrically operated and provide really clean effluent.