Introduction

Sewerage and surface water either from a building is very important for public
health and an important point in the construction of a building . If drainage is not neat
and leak , water can not miss the water supply or pollute the air. Water released could
also destroy the soil under the foundation and can lead to the deposition of part of the
building
Drainage scheme for the building is necessary to remove the residual water ,
foul water and surface water .Wastewater and sewage together and disposed of in
septic tanks in rural areas or foul water sewers in urban areas.Sewer sewage discharge
sewage to the treatment plant where it is settled , filtered and chemically treated
.Surface water can be discharged into the soakaway , to a river or lake in rural areas or
surface water ( or Storm Water ) drains in urban areas. Storm water drain safely
release water into rivers or lakes .Separate drainage system used where wastewater
and surface water are separated at the source and drain pipes individually to surface
water or foul water drains .

Drainage Systems, Sewage Treatment and Refuse Disposal

Combined and separate systems
the type of drainage system selected for a building will be determined by the
local water authoritys established sewer arrangements. These will be installed with
regard to foul water processing and the possibility of disposing of surface water via a
sewer into a local watercourse or directly into soakaway.
Combine system
This uses a single drain to convey both foul water from santary appliances and
rainwater from roofs and other surface to a shared sewer. The system is economical to
install but the processing costs at the sewage treatment plant are high.
Separate system

This has foul water from the sanitary appliances conveyed in a foul water
drain to a foul water sewer . the rainwater from roofs and other surface is conveyed in
a surface water drain into a surface water sewer or a soakaway . this system is
relatively expensive to install , particularlyif the ground has poor drainage qualities
and soakaway cannot be used. However the benefit is reduced volume and treatment
costs at the processing plant .

Key :
IC : inspection chamber
WG : waste gully
YG : yard gully
RP : rodding point
RWG : rainwater gully
RG : road gully
RWS : rainwater shoe

S & VP : soil and vent pipe (discharge stack)

Partially separate system

Partially separate system moste of the rainwater is conveyed by the surface
water drain into the surface water sewer.for convenience and to reduce site costs , the
local water authority may permit an isolated rainwater inlet to be connected to the foul
water drain.this is shown with the rainwater inlet at A connected to the foul water
inspection chamber.also , a rodding point is shown at B . these are often used at the
head of a drain , as an alternative to a more costly inspection chamber.
A back inlet gully can be used for connecting a rainwater downpipe or a waste
pipe to a drain. The bend or trap provides a useful reservoir to trap leaves. When used
with a foul water drain , the seal prevents air contamination. A yard gully is solely for
collecting surface water and connecting this with a drain. It is similar to a road
gully,but smaller. A rainwater shoe is only for connecting a rainwater pipe to a surface
water drain. The soil and vent pipe or discharge stack is connected to the foul water
drain with a rest bend at its base. This can be purpose made or produced with two 135
degre celcius bends. It must have a centre-line radius of at least 200mm

Rodding point system

Rodding points or rodding eyes provide a simple and inexpensive means of
accsess at the head of a drain or on shallow drain runs for rodding in the direction of
flow. They eliminate isolated loads that manholes and inspection chambers can
impose on the ground , thus reducing the possibility of uneven settlement. The system
is also neater , with less surface interruptions , prior to installation , it is essential to
consult with the local authority to determine whether the system is acceptable and if
so , to determine the maximum depth of application and any other limitations on use.
As rodding is only practical in one direction , an inspection chamber or manhole is
usually required before connection to a sewer.

Refs. Building Regulations, Approved Documents H1: Foul water drainage and H3:
Rainwater drainage.
BS EN 752: Drain and sewer systems outside buildings.
Sewer connection
Connections between drains and sewer must be obliquely in the direction of
flow. Drains may be connected independently to the public sewer so that each
building owner is responsible for the maintenance of the drainage system for that
building up to the property boundary. Thereafter , ownership and responsibility for the
drain is with the water and sewerage authority.in situations where there would be long
drain runs, it may be more economical to connect each drain to a shared sewer. This
requires only one sewer connection for several buildings. Responsibility for
maintenance of the shared sewer is the local water and sewerage authoritys.

Connection of a drain to the public sewer can be made with a manhole. If one of these
is used at every connection , the road surface is unnecessarily disrupted. Therefore, a
saddle is preferred but manhole access is still required at no more than 90m intervals .
saddles are bedded in cement mortar in a hole made in the top of the sewer.

Note: The term lateral drain may be used to describe a shared drain or sewer.
Drainage ventilation
Venting of foul water drains is necessary to prevent a concentration of gases
and to retain the air inside the drain at atmospheric pressure. This is essential to
prevent the loss of trap water seals by siphonage or compression. The current practice
of direct connection of the discharge stack and drain to the public sewer provides a
simple means of ventilation through every stack on older systems, generally pre1950s, an interceptor trap with a 65mm water seal separates the drain from the sewer .
the sewer is independently vented by infrequently spaced high-level vent stacks.
Through ventilation of the drains is by fresh air inlet at the lowest means of access
and the discharge stack. It may still be necessary to use this system where new

buildings are contructed where it exists.it is also a useful means of controlling rodent
penetration from the sewer.

To reduce installation costs and to eliminate roof penetration of ventilating

stacks. Discharge stacks can terminate inside a building. This is normally within the
roof space , i.e. above the highest water level of an appliance connected to the stack,
provided the top of the stack is filted with an air admittance vavle (AAV). An AAV
prevents the emission of foul air , but admits air into the stacks under conditions of
reduced atmospheric pressure. AAVs are limited in use to dwellings of no more than
three storeys , in up to four adjacent buildings. The fifth building must have a
conventional vent stack to ventilate the sewer.

Unventilated stacks (ground floor only)

Direct connection a WC may discharge directly into a drain , without
connection to a soil and ventilating stack. Application is limited to a maximum
distance between the centre line of the WC trap outlet and the drain invert of 1-5m
Stub stacks this is an extension of the above requirement and may apply to a
group of sanitary fittings in addition to the WC requirement , no branch pipes to other
fittings may be higher than 2m above connection to a ventilated stack or the drain
invert.

The maximum length of branch drain from single appliance to a means of

drain access is 6m. for a group pf appliances it is 12m

Refs. Building Regulations, Approved Document H1, Section 1: Sanitary pipework.

BS EN 120562: Gravity drainage systems inside buildings.
Sanitary pipework, layout and calculation.

Drain laying
The bottom of a drain trench must be excavated to a gradient. This is achieved
by setting up sight rails, suitably marked to show the centre of the drain. These are
located above the trench and aligned to the gradient required. At least three sight rails
should be used. A boning rod (rather like a long T square) is sighted between the
rails to establish the level and gradient of the trench bottom. Wooden pegs are driven
into the trench bottom at about 1 m intervals. The required level is achieved by
placing the bottom of the boning rod on each peg and checking top alignment with the

sight rails. Pegs are adjusted accordingly and removed before laying the drains. For
safe working in a trench, it is essential to provide temporary support to the excavation.