Adoptable or non-adoptable pump stations

When would you have one over the other?

This is a question the Solid Links team is asked by people on the edge of the industry. It is not often asked by people who work within the industry as the answer is quite simple. You should always opt for non-adoptable pump stations over adoptable unless you are told to do otherwise. When we say “you” we do not mean “you as a house owner” because as a house owner, you would always be better off with an adoptable system. By “you” we mean anyone who actually has the choice, such as a developer, drainage engineer or an architect.

Differences between adoptable and non-adoptable pump stations

Let’s explain this in simple terms by clarifying what the basic differences are between an adoptable and a non-adoptable pump station.

An adoptable pump station is a system where your local water authority would take on the responsibility for the ongoing maintenance and running costs. If you, as a potential house buyer, were to purchase a property which is being served by a pump station adopted by a local water authority, the chances are you wouldn’t even be aware of this. Once the foul waste leaves your properties boundary, you most likely do not want to know where it goes or how it gets there. All you care about is that your drainage works, and that your water bill is as cheap as possible.

However, if you had purchased a house which is being served by its own private pump station, you certainly would care, and would like to know about the “ins and outs” of your drainage system, because the consequences of the system failing could be catastrophic. You could literally be left deep in it.

So as a house owner, you would prefer your local water authority to take care of everything rather than it being your responsibility.

When an adoptable pump station is appropriate

If you consider a housing developer who is building 50 houses on a new estate, they will choose to install one large pump station, rather than 50 individual systems. Not only would one large system be cheaper than individual systems, selling the houses to any potential buyer would be a lot easier as they would not choose to have their own private pump station if they didn’t have to. The question developers must ask themselves is this; do I want to build a pump station to serve the 50 houses that cost £50k, or do I want to build one that costs £300k? The obvious answer is £50k, but this would not be up to an adoptable standard. This means the water authority would not be interested in taking on the responsibility of the unit, which in turn means the developer would have to somehow convince all of the potential house purchasers that they need to share the cost of the running/maintenance via some form of maintenance company. A £300k investment spread over 50 new houses isn’t too expensive. A developer will know this and realise that getting the pump station adopted is worth the cost.

There are many technical differences between an adoptable and non-adoptable pump station, but it really boils down to the pump station being designed and built to the same specification as all the other adoptable units under the umbrella of the local water authority. This is so that any individual engineer working for a local water authority can visit any pump station and know exactly how it functions. Private pump stations can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, therefore the maintenance schedule and procedure could differ drastically.

However, most new housing developments are not of sufficient size to warrant such an expense. Many housing projects consist of one, two or let’s say up to 10 houses, where a private pump station would make much more sense, both for practical and financial reasons.

There are many pump station manufacturers that can offer “off the shelf” systems that would meet many applications’ requirements, but there is a growing market for companies such as Solid Links to offer a bespoke system. Something which technically would be in between an “off the shelf” and an “adoptable” pump station. For example, deep inverts, large storage requirements to comply with Building Regulation, long pumping distances or large pumping lifts.

Bespoke and fit for purpose pump stations

If you are looking to install a high quality, customised, and fit for purpose pump station, reach out to the Solid Links design team below:

Email: info@solidlinks.co.uk

Phone: 01227 200801