Septic services in Fowey & Lostwithiel & surrounding rural parishes
The Fowey valley between Lostwithiel and the sea — Golant, Lerryn, Lanteglos and the creekside hamlets — is classic off-mains Cornwall: older properties on private drainage close to a river the Environment Agency actively monitors.
What we can arrange around Fowey & Lostwithiel
Kernow Septic is a local guide and enquiry service — we put you in touch with firms covering Fowey & Lostwithiel and handle the checking that comes first. How it works.
Emptying & servicing Most requested
Scheduled emptying and servicing for tanks and treatment plants near Fowey & Lostwithiel.
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 Fowey & Lostwithiel
Since 1 January 2020 a septic tank must not discharge directly to a watercourse — around Fowey & Lostwithiel that means the River Fowey and its estuary and the Lerryn and Penpol creeks. 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 3 bathing waters on this stretch of coast — Lostwithiel, River Fowey, Readymoney Cove and Polkerris . 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 .
Slate valleys between the St Austell granite to the west and the moor to the north, with wet valley-bottom ground along the Fowey. The designated river bathing water at Lostwithiel — one of very few in England — puts this catchment under more scrutiny than most, which matters for any tank still discharging to the river. 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 Fowey & Lostwithiel.
Run the free compliance check