Septic services in Newquay & surrounding rural parishes
Inland from Newquay's resort core, the farms and villages of the Gannel and the parishes towards St Columb are firmly off-mains, relying on septic tanks and package treatment plants.
What we can arrange around Newquay
Kernow Septic is a local guide and enquiry service — we put you in touch with firms covering Newquay and handle the checking that comes first. How it works.
Emptying & servicing Most requested
Scheduled emptying and servicing for tanks and treatment plants near Newquay.
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 Newquay
Since 1 January 2020 a septic tank must not discharge directly to a watercourse — around Newquay that means the River Gannel, the Porth stream and the Menalhyl at Mawgan Porth. 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 7 bathing waters on this stretch of coast — Fistral North, Fistral South, Towan, Porth, Watergate Bay, Crantock and Mawgan Porth . 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 .
The Newquay hinterland is Devonian slate with loamy soils that generally percolate adequately — but valley-bottom plots near the Gannel and Menalhyl can sit wet, and a drainage field that floods in winter is a non-compliant drainage field. 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 Newquay.
Run the free compliance check