Looking for soakaway in Eastern Cape? SepticTankCleaning.co.za puts homeowners, smallholders, farms, lodges and businesses in Eastern Cape in touch with a drainage contractor who works in towns, plots and farms across Eastern Cape. Fill in the job card and you receive a quote directly, free and with no obligation.
Soakaways in Eastern Cape
Soakaway work in Eastern Cape is mostly booked by owners of plots, farms and older houses where a septic tank is the only option. Share the number of people, the tank size and whether the ground is sandy, clay or rocky, so contractors serving Eastern Cape and the rest of Eastern Cape can quote accurately.
Want to know more first? Our soakaway guide covers the options, what to check and what affects the price.
Septic tanks and drainage in Eastern Cape
Large parts of the Eastern Cape sit off the sewer, from Wild Coast villages and rural homesteads around Mthatha to farms near Graaff-Reinet and holiday homes along the Sunshine Coast. Coastal sand and a high water table around Jeffreys Bay, Port Alfred and Kenton-on-Sea flood soakaways, so conservancy tanks and package plants are common. Inland Karoo farms use septic tanks and french drains that rarely get rain to wash them. Schools and clinics in rural areas need scheduled pump-outs, and factories around Kariega and Coega need bulk removal. Honey sucker operators and tank suppliers are based mainly in Gqeberha and East London, so distant jobs cost more.
Typical soakaway requests in the area come from:
- Houses: a new or rebuilt soakaway for an older house whose pit has clogged or flooded
- Schools, churches and clinics: large pits for schools, clinics and churches, designed for heavy daytime use
- Farms and game farms: building pits at homesteads and worker housing, kept well clear of boreholes and dams
- Lodges, guesthouses and venues: larger or multiple pits that cope with peak guest numbers and seasonal overloading
- Smallholdings and plots: a larger pit or two linked pits on a smallholding with space but heavy clay soil
- Factories, mines, sites and events: pits for site offices, depots and ablutions, sized for the number of workers
- Restaurants, shops and offices: pits for rural shops, filling stations and restaurants that are not on a sewer
Local tips for Eastern Cape
Common here: conservancy tanks and package plants on the coast, septic tanks on Karoo farms. Ask each operator or contractor to allow for this: ask how often the tank should be emptied if holiday use is seasonal. Help usually comes from operators based mainly in Gqeberha and East London.
Soakaways usually means dig a pit, fill it with stone or fit chambers, for 2 to 3 m across, 1.5 to 2.5 m deep, check yearly, lasts 15 to 25 years. Ground in the area: sandy coastal ground with a high water table, dry hard Karoo soil inland.
What to include in your request
- Number of people using the system and the tank size in litres
- Whether this is a new soakaway or a repair of an old one
- Soil type and whether a percolation test has been done
- Distance to buildings, boreholes, streams and boundaries
- Stone pit, rubble pit or chamber, if you have a preference
The more detail you give, the more accurate your quote will be.
Service area: Eastern Cape and surrounds
Operators, contractors and suppliers on our network work throughout Eastern Cape, including Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Makhanda, Jeffreys Bay, Port Alfred, Graaff-Reinet. For smaller towns and farms, ask what the travel charge is from the nearest base and how far it is to the disposal site.