HAVE YOU SABRE'd UP YET?

A simple but effective management solution

When I complete free system health checks for people, one of the most common problems with systems is that they are operating illegally , discharging raw sewage into our delicate environment.


This isn't normally intentional by the waste producer but usually due to a limited understanding or knowledge around the legal management of waste.


Most of the troublesome systems consist of septic tanks and soak aways, where people have perfectly good septic tanks but due to the construction, or more commonly, the condition of the ground, namely, high clay content in Sussex, soak aways struggle and pollute the environment by creating wet and soggy patches in gardens and fields.


One of the popular solutions to solving this problem is introducing biological treatment by a separate treatment only tank. The one pictured above is called a SABRE.

These systems utilise an existing septic tank, taking the runny sewage, and treating it to an extremely high standard. They work on the principles of activated sludge, generally meaning lower maintenance and operational costs. The effluent produced is of an extremely high standard.


The photo above shows the reactor aerating and the activated sludge within the system. The advantage of these systems are that they are generally half the cost of a comparative all in one system of similar performance. They are also scalable and can be used for both domestic and industrial applications:-

Transfer Stations

This is a picture of Scaynes Hill Treatment Works. They process a lot of Haywards Heaths sewage as well as waste taken in from Tankers. This is where waste from septic tanks is legally discharged so it can be recycled into clean water and compost. 

A bit about reed beds to treat sewage

A recent 600 sq metre reed bed at Wiston House

Reed beds are a very effective and efficient way of treating sewage. This has lead to major package treatment plant manufacturers and companies who install package treatment systems seeing them as a threat with the consequences being a flurry of negative myths about reed beds about operation, maintenance, appearance and longevity.

Reed beds are very simple - bacteria grow on the shingle substrata, the reeds simply provide oxygen through their root network, and the food for the bacteria is provided in the sewage. Many myths involve bad smells, the need to dig them out once every few years, the quality of the final effluent being poor and maintenance being more than a package system.

Correctly sized and installed a reed bed requires no maintenance or clearance work. The reeds may need to be cut back once every 10 to 20 years to encourage continued new growth but that is all. They also produce an effluent far cleaner and superior to an electromechanical system.   

A typical domestic sized reed bed

I design and install bespoke reed beds, and all our beds are lined with a quality single piece rubber based liner rather than PVC, to ensure longevity. Correctly sized and installed, a reed bed should never need maintenance.


For further information, visit Severn Trent Water, who were one of the pioneers of reed beds at the start of the 80's. Alternatively you can contact me through our website at Moody Sewage

About me

If you spent £10,000 on a car, would you look after it? Clean it? Keep it running?
My name is Jeremy and I work for our family company Moody Sewage Limited, specialising in all things sewage. 
We do Septic Tank Emptying, System Design and repairs, Installation of off the shelf and bespoke systems, maintenance and blockages. 


Check out our website at www.moodysewage.com for a list of all of our services.


Sewage and management are still a very misunderstood utility that we all rely on. I will be reporting on what I get up to and the horrors I come across, like this one - a perfectly good system  left to neglect. The results of this are raw sewage pollution into our rivers.