Cyprus-Forum.com

[GreekIslandGirl]

I think you cannot just sink a cesspit/soak-away anywhere you want to even if it's on your own land/property.

You may need a land survey done or a permit as it would have to be X number of metres away from any water supplies and suchlike.

[kurupetos]

Shit can flow freely... finally

so whats stopping from flowing away then.

Not you.

[kurupetos]

Shit can flow freely... finally

Always has done on this forum

Even the admin left it.

[repulsewarrior]

...there must be a building code.

Have the people that you've asked to bid on this work been consistent in the execution they plan, by location, and specification. what are your choices?

[Get Real!]

Hi All,
We don't have the option to connect to mains sewerage at this time.pipes have recently been laid at the end of the street but it could be years before we at least have the option to connect to them
The current system is a shared cesspit between around 12 villas. These fill up very quickly and no one seems to know why.In addition not everyone contributes to them being emptied which is on a frequent and regular basis. ( though Giovani help us with this as a goodwill gesture at a cost of 150 euros / year)
This is why I'm looking to sink my own with soak away and disconnect to the shared one.
The new one will go at the foot of the drive but this is where power & telecoms enters my land and I don't want to damage either during excavations as this would incur much additional cost and inconvenience particularly as the road is a private one ( which I found out about after purchase in 2005)
Thank you for the replies so far

Unless you have a remote-operated gate or something else that needs power there should be no electricity cables running along your driveway. (your electric is in the air right?)

Usually, the only problem is the telephone line so look for a small manhole cover with “CYTA” written on it or maybe "ATHK", outside on the pavement. From that little manhole an 8-wire phone/data cable runs in a thin dark-grey plastic pipe underground towards the small wooden boxes of each unit located underneath the larger wooden boxes of the power supply meters. That small wooden housing contains the phone line terminal.

You can then use common sense to figure out the approximate path of this cable since you now have the two points.

[Jackjack]

Hi Get Real. The power is underground fed from a substation close by and definitely passes beneath my drive which is also patterned concrete. With my luck I know the cutting auger will probably hit it if it isn't marked. I'm familiar with Telecoms cables as I did 20 years at BT in the UK so even if they are hit I could repair easily myself though much better of course not to.The only certain way to be safe is mark up.Thanks for help btw

[Jackjack]

I think you cannot just sink a cesspit/soak-away anywhere you want to even if it's on your own land/property.

You may need a land survey done or a permit as it would have to be X number of metres away from any water supplies and suchlike.

Thanks .I will approach Sotira council on my return. Hopefully I will get a quick and definitive reply. It is strange though that if the powers that be are keen to protect the environment they would be keen to prevent the current set up whereby the shared pits fill up quickly and sometimes overflow and we have no power over those that do not contribute to the over frequent emptying. I've been in Cyprus over 10 years and am weary of this problem. This is an end of the line ( excuse the pun) solution.

[Robin Hood]

Hi Get Real. The power is underground fed from a substation close by and definitely passes beneath my drive which is also patterned concrete. With my luck I know the cutting auger will probably hit it if it isn't marked. I'm familiar with Telecoms cables as I did 20 years at BT in the UK so even if they are hit I could repair easily myself though much better of course not to.The only certain way to be safe is mark up.Thanks for help btw

JJ:
I have an underground electrical supply and even though I provided a 2" diameter conduit, in concrete, from the boundary wall to the electricity house, also on the boundary they refused to use it and dug a 750mm deep trench for 10m in the footpath and installed their own conduit. I was told that they were not allowed to run THEIR cables on private land ..... with or without consent. The Telephone cable is next to the conduit I provided and with Cyta I had no problems with them using my installation where the Cyta box is located in with the electric meter and fuses.

[Get Real!]

Hi Get Real. The power is underground fed from a substation close by and definitely passes beneath my drive which is also patterned concrete. With my luck I know the cutting auger will probably hit it if it isn't marked. I'm familiar with Telecoms cables as I did 20 years at BT in the UK so even if they are hit I could repair easily myself though much better of course not to.The only certain way to be safe is mark up.Thanks for help btw

In that case your circumstances are special so you should go to the EAC’s office and arrange for them to mark it.

As for underground power supply… it sounds like someone hasn’t paid to have power poles installed and I’d be more concerned about that first! I think the EAC charges about 150 euros each but I don’t know what distance you’d need to cover.

Finally, here are some relevant words that may help when trying to communicate with the peasants of Sotira… (emphasis on the blue letter)

Abohideftiko = Sewerage system

Revma = Power

Sirma = Cable

Driba = Hole

Kioungia = Those cylindrical cement casts used to line the hole.

[Robin Hood]

GR:

As for underground power supply… it sounds like someone hasn’t paid to have power poles installed and I’d be more concerned about that first! I think the EAC charges about 150 euro’s each but I don’t know what distance you’d need to cover.

GR, I think you are a bit out of date! Many new installations are now run underground from the local substation to pits outside each pair of properties. One access pit serves two properties. The cost of a power pole is nearer €500 these days, I paid €400 for a temporary supply pole six years ago.

For an underground supply you have to provide a meter house to their specification and they install and connect to their equipment. AHK will run their cable as I previously explained. The cable from the meter cubicle to the house should be 10mm steel wire armoured cable, run in a plastic conduit on your property, it is your cable, your responsibility and AHK will not have any information on their drawings beyond their supply to the meter house, but the architect should be able to provide this information.