Ostrava, 24 October 2019 – Waste waters from households not connected to any public sewer must be disposed of with a proper environmental care strictly respecting all legal regulations. Furthermore, public institutions declare to be stricter when checking law-abidance. SmVaK Ostrava hence prepared a flexible system to provide efficient and comfortable assistance at a reasonable price to people living in the Moravian-Silesian region whose houses are not connected to any public sewer. The project starts on 22 October in the Beskydy communities situated in the valley between the Lysá Hora massif and Ropice. More areas will follow.

“Having discussed these issues with the representatives of towns and communities, we have understood that the owners of houses that are not connected to public sewers are often at a loss as how to dispose of their household waste water in a correct and legal way. We would like to accommodate their needs so we have divided the region into logical routes along which we will be ready to respond on selected days to the requirements of the local people. Indeed, some cooperation with the respective towns and communities is required in order to get their inhabitants informed. In the same way, we have to be flexible in deploying our specific-purpose vehicles. We have prepared the system in such a way that if people – let’s say neighbours – in one of the villages agree to have their cesspit or septic tanks emptied they can share the respective transport costs and thus save money,” says Anatol Pšenička, CEO of SmVaK Ostrava.

People are often quite confused as to what is legally required from individuals and legal entities in the area of waste water neutralization and disposal. This is covered by the so-called Water Act that requires all home owners to ensure that the waste waters they produce are duly neutralized in line with the conditions set forth by the respective water authority and valid legislation.

“Having your house connected to a public sewer through a branch sewer is considered to be a standard approved method of neutralizing waste waters; the public sewer may be sanitary (sanitary waste water) or combined (sanitary waste water and rain water),” says Jan Tlolka, Sewer System Manager of SmVaK Ostrava. The second permitted way to dispose of waste water is to release it into designated water works; this applies to domestic waste water treatment plants.

Another option of waste water disposal used mostly in smaller villages and dispersed settlements is to collect the waste water in drainless pits. “House owners are then obliged to ensure that these waters are disposed of properly so that the quality of surface and ground water is not jeopardized – this means that the pit must be watertight. Moreover, the real estate owner must document the waste water disposal method if requested by the water authority or the Czech Environmental Inspectorate,” explains Mr. Tlolka.

Many people still do not follow the legislation risking high financial penalties. The worst, yet still rather wide-spread method of waste water disposal is discharging the water directly into surface or ground water. This is clearly a breach of the respective law.

People who are taking out the contents of their cesspit or septic tank and spread it out in the fields, gardens, forests or even discharge it into a water stream run the risk of sanctions too. This is a violation that can be penalized by the respective water authority or the Czech Environmental Inspectorate.

An argument that is often voiced in contested situations says that the owners ordered their cesspit to be emptied by a specialized company offering such services and have no clear knowledge where their waste water was disposed of in the end. The solution is simple. The service should always be ordered from a company who is authorized to perform these services (emptying and safe disposal of waste water). “People should always keep these invoices or agreements. They should state the quantity as well as the waste water treatment plant where the waste water was disposed of,” explains Mr. Tlolka.

No success is obtained either if people order the cesspit emptying only once every several years claiming that it is sufficient even though the quantity of the water supplied into the property does not correspond to the quantity of water taken out of the cesspit. The volume of disposed water should correspond to the quantity of drinking water supplied to the house. “This can be easily checked on the owner’s water meter,” concludes Mr. Tlolka.