Looking for soakaway in KwaZulu-Natal? SepticTankCleaning.co.za puts homeowners, smallholders, farms, lodges and businesses in KwaZulu-Natal in touch with a drainage contractor who works in towns, plots and farms across KwaZulu-Natal. Fill in the job card and you receive a quote directly, free and with no obligation.
Soakaways in KwaZulu-Natal
Soakaway work in KwaZulu-Natal 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 KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of KwaZulu-Natal 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 KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal has a humid, wet climate, steep hills and a high water table near the coast, all of which strain septic systems. Outside Durban and Pietermaritzburg's sewered areas, rural homesteads, smallholdings in the Midlands and Hillcrest area, and lodges along the Drakensberg and the North and South Coasts use septic tanks, conservancy tanks and package plants. Coastal sand floods soakaways in heavy summer rain, so many properties use sealed conservancy tanks instead. Sugar cane and timber farms add worker housing tanks, and industrial sites around Durban and Richards Bay need bulk removal. Honey sucker operators and tank suppliers work from greater Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Richards Bay.
Typical soakaway requests in the area come from:
- Houses: a new or rebuilt soakaway for an older house whose pit has clogged or flooded
- 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
- Estates and complexes: sizing pits for shared tanks on a complex, with a test report for the body corporate
- Farms and game farms: building pits at homesteads and worker housing, kept well clear of boreholes and dams
- Restaurants, shops and offices: pits for rural shops, filling stations and restaurants that are not on a sewer
- Factories, mines, sites and events: pits for site offices, depots and ablutions, sized for the number of workers
- Schools, churches and clinics: large pits for schools, clinics and churches, designed for heavy daytime use
Local tips for KwaZulu-Natal
In KwaZulu-Natal, the most common systems are sealed conservancy tanks on the coast, septic tanks with soakaways in the Midlands. Operators and suppliers mostly work from operators based in greater Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Richards Bay. A useful tip: ask for a vacuum tanker with a licensed tipping point, not a roadside dump.
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: high water table near the sea and heavy summer rain: soakaways flood quickly.
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: KwaZulu-Natal and surrounds
Operators, contractors and suppliers on our network work throughout KwaZulu-Natal, including Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Umhlanga, Ballito, Richards Bay, Newcastle, Port Shepstone. For smaller towns and farms, ask what the travel charge is from the nearest base and how far it is to the disposal site.