Areas closer to the River Anton floodplain have naturally higher water tables. If you dig a soakaway here, you might hit the water table much sooner than expected. A soakaway that sits in the water table won't drain; it will just fill up and overflow.
However, there’s a catch. Andover also has significant deposits of (a reddish, sticky clay) capping the chalk, particularly on higher ground around Picket Twenty , Charlton , and Enham Alamein . This clay is impermeable.
Have you had drainage issues in Andover? Do you find your garden drains faster than your neighbours? Let us know in the comments below! soakaways andover, hampshire
Many Andover homeowners have a common story: they dug a pit, filled it with coarse gravel, covered it with soil, and then watched it overflow during the first heavy rain.
Many older properties in central Andover have existing soakaways that were installed decades ago. These often fail because the voids (the spaces where water sits) have become clogged with silt or the surrounding soil has compacted. Replacing these often requires modern plastic crate systems wrapped in geotextile membranes to stop the fine particles in local soils from blocking the flow. Areas closer to the River Anton floodplain have
: Modern systems often use "plastic crates" (modular cells) wrapped in geotextile fabric to provide a large void for water storage. Surface Water vs. Foul Water :
: If a soakaway connected to a septic tank fails, it is often due to "binding," where solid waste enters the pipes and seals the soil. However, there’s a catch
Andover’s chalk landscape is generally a friend to good drainage, but it requires respect. The hard digging required to break through the chalk layer often puts DIYers off, leading to shallow systems that don't work.