SPANC Regulations

Rules and Regulations Governing Septic Tanks

The main regulations which apply to your septic tank installation are as follows:

  • The minimum size for a septic tank is 3000 litres or 3 cubic metres for a property with three bedrooms or less. You will need to add another 1000 litres per each additional bedroom in the house.

  • Your septic tank and system components ie filter bed must not be installed within 3 metres of any neighbouring properties.

  • Your septic tank cannot be installed within 3 metres of any trees or shrubs on your property although garden plants such as flowers are usually exempt from this rule.

  • You must leave a distance of 35 metres between the tank’s filter bed and any water sources on your property such as rivers, streams or wells.

  • Rainwater must not be allowed to enter your septic tank so you will need to ensure your property has an alternative drainage system to avoid this happening.

  • Your septic tank must be properly ventilated and easily accessible via a covered manhole.The 4-yearly SPANC inspection

The 4-yearly SPANC inspection

Your local Mairie is responsible for checking that your septic tank installation complies with the French rules and regulations.

They will contact you every four years to arrange a visit from the SPANC who will inspect your system and order pump-out maintenance if required.

Your tank will need emptying either completely or partially when the sludge level shows it to be 60% full. Pump-outs can only be carried out by a registered and approved company.

The SPANC inspection will cover all the essential details for your tank including:-

  • The exact location of your septic tank.
  • The volume of waste in your tank.
  • The condition of your tank.
  • The various access points to the tank.
  • The tank’s ventilation system.
  • The sludge and scum levels in the tank.
  • The condition of the pipes running to and from the tank.
  • The filtration system.
  • The nature of the soil around your tank.
  • The proximity of your tank to any water sources either above or below ground.

If your system fails the inspection for any reason, you will have 12 months to bring it up to standard again. For more information contact us.

*Photos of SPANC officials reproduced with kind permission.

When you chose us to carry out your fosse installation we will take care of the entire process. This includes the following:-

  1. We will instruct our chosen French company to carry out the soil test.
  2. Plans are drawn up and to given to us directly.
  3. The relevant forms are filled in by us and handed to SPANC.
  4. We liaise with SPANC until full planning has been achieved.

If steps 3 and 4 have NOT been completed this leaves the client vulnerable eg a client may get a quote from an installation company when a system has NOT been accepted. This is the reason we complete the entire process. The client can be confident in the knowledge, that they are getting the right system in accordance with all the planning and regulation requirements.