He picked up his shovel and started to fill the hole. The dream wasn’t built on a grand vision. It was built on thirty-two millimetres per hour.
Brockenhurst, for all its thatched-roof charm and pony-trekking tourists, sat on a bed of stubborn, ancient clay. The planning department had been clear. No mains drainage. A septic tank or a treatment plant was fine, but first, he had to prove the ground would drink. It had to be thirsty enough to accept the effluent from a washing machine, a toilet, a shower. Too slow, and the whole thing was dead. The application would be denied, the land worthless. percolation test in brockenhurst
At its core, a percolation test (often referred to as a "perc test") is a method used to determine the rate at which water absorbs into the soil. In Brockenhurst, where many properties are unconnected to the main sewage network, this test is the first step in designing a private drainage system, such as a septic tank or a sewage treatment plant with a drainage field (also known as a soakaway). He picked up his shovel and started to fill the hole