Septic services in Bude & surrounding rural parishes
The north-Cornwall farming country around Bude and the Stratton and Marhamchurch parishes is deeply rural and off-mains, with septic tanks and treatment plants the norm outside the town.
What we can arrange around Bude
Kernow Septic is a local guide and enquiry service — we put you in touch with firms covering Bude and handle the checking that comes first. How it works.
Emptying & servicing Most requested
Scheduled emptying and servicing for tanks and treatment plants near Bude.
Repairs
Backups, blockages and failed soakaways put right.
Treatment plant upgrades
Upgrades where a septic tank no longer meets the rules.
Nearby areas
The local picture around Bude
Since 1 January 2020 a septic tank must not discharge directly to a watercourse — around Bude that means the River Neet (Strat) and the coastal streams at Millook and Crackington. A tank that still does needs upgrading to a treatment plant or a drainage field, and it usually surfaces at the point of sale. How the discharge rules work →
The Environment Agency designates 6 bathing waters on this stretch of coast — Summerleaze, Crooklets, Northcott Mouth, Sandymouth, Widemouth Sand and Crackington Haven . Private drainage in these catchments is monitored accordingly, and siting near protected waters affects what you can install. Look any beach up on the EA's bathing water profiles .
North of the granite, the Bude district sits on Culm Measures — folded shales and sandstones with slow-draining clay subsoils. Waterlogged or slow-percolating drainage fields are the characteristic local failure, especially through winter. What a percolation test involves → · BGS geology viewer
Not sure if your system is compliant?
Since 2020 the Environment Agency's General Binding Rules ban septic tanks discharging straight to a watercourse. Run your setup through our free checker to see where you stand near Bude.
Run the free compliance check