Phoning around for soakaway in Newcastle takes time, and every company asks the same questions. Send one job card instead and we pass it to drainage contractors and septic installers who serve Newcastle and nearby areas of KwaZulu-Natal. They quote on the work, travel, disposal and how soon they can come.
Soakaways in Newcastle
Soakaway work in Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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 Newcastle
Newcastle sits in northern KwaZulu-Natal coalfield country, with town suburbs such as Lennoxton, Fairleigh and Arbor Park on the sewer and the townships of Madadeni and Osizweni on municipal networks that can be overloaded. Septic tanks and conservancy tanks serve farms, smallholdings, lodges along the Ncandu valley and industrial sites on the outskirts. Winters are cold and dry, with summer storms that soak clay soils, and shallow rock in places makes soakaways harder to dig. Honey sucker operators work from Newcastle and Ladysmith, and long distances to farms add to the quote. Ask whether disposal goes to a municipal works or a registered site.
Typical soakaway requests in the area come from:
- Houses: a new or rebuilt soakaway for an older house whose pit has clogged or flooded
- Farms and game farms: building pits at homesteads and worker housing, kept well clear of boreholes and dams
- 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
- Smallholdings and plots: a larger pit or two linked pits on a smallholding with space but heavy clay soil
- Lodges, guesthouses and venues: larger or multiple pits that cope with peak guest numbers and seasonal overloading
- Schools, churches and clinics: large pits for schools, clinics and churches, designed for heavy daytime use
Local tips for Newcastle
Common here: septic tanks on farms and plots, conservancy tanks at industrial sites. Ask each operator or contractor to allow for this: ask for the distance charge on farm calls before the tanker leaves. Help usually comes from operators based in Newcastle, some from Ladysmith.
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: clay soils and shallow rock in places: soakaways are slow to dig and drain.
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: Newcastle and surrounds
Operators, contractors and suppliers on our network work in Newcastle and surrounding areas, including Madadeni, Osizweni, Blaauwbosch, Utrecht, Dannhauser, Charlestown. Give the suburb, holding or farm name so the quote can include travel, and say how soon you need someone.