Does my business need a trade effluent consent?
The Water Industry Act 1991 states that any liquid produced wholly or in part from any trade or business activity carried out on your trade premises qualifies as trade effluent and therefore requires consent from United Utilities. This does not include domestic activities such as toilet flushing, personal cooking and washing.
Trade effluent control applies to all businesses from large multinationals to independent traders.
However, food retailers (pubs. restaurants and cafes etc) do not need a trade effluent consent.
If your business involves the manufacture or processing of materials such as chemicals, metal finishing, food and drink manufacture or even if you operate a car wash or launderette it is likely you will need trade effluent consent from United Utilities.
Even small discharges of only a few litres a day might require consent. Please contact us to go through any specific enquiry relating to your business.
You can contact the Trade Effluent Department at the following address: United Utilities, Lingley Mere Business Park, Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington, WA5 3LP. Telephone 01925 678173, email TEQUERY@uuplc.co.uk
What about surface water drainage?
Trade effluent control applies only to those discharges made to the foul sewer. No discharge of trade effluent should be made to the surface water sewer; this includes vehicle washes and condensate from steam boiler systems.
It is your responsibility to ensure drains on your site are identified correctly and any trade effluent discharge directed to foul sewer.
Any surface water drains on your site that you suspect are receiving contaminated surface water (for example a waste transfer station) should be redirected to foul sewer and trade effluent consent applied for. Any other surface drains should be protected with bunds and / or other containment systems.
The disposal of groundwater during land remediation projects should be passed to foul sewer and not to the surface water system. Such discharges require permission from United Utilities.
What will my trade effluent consent contain?
Any form of authorisation issued by United Utilities is likely to contain the following limits:
- A limit on maximum daily volume and on maximum discharge rate.
- A limit on the concentration of solid particulates and other organic matter.
- Any substance likely to produce flammable, harmful or toxic vapours will be not be permitted.
- The pH will be restricted between set levels.
- Effluents with a temperature higher than 43.3 0C will not be permitted
- United Utilities will set any appropriate condition to ensure that discharges do not cause a nuisance in the sewer network or at sewage works, interfere with sewage treatment processes, prejudicially affect any watercourse or pose a threat to the health and safety of its employees or the general public.
What if my application for consent is refused?
United Utilities will work with business customers to try and come to an amicable agreement to resolve any issues.
It may be necessary for you to install pre-treatment prior to discharging the effluent to sewer or put in place other risk control measures to mitigate any adverse effects.
You have the right of appeal to Ofwat if your application is refused.
What do I do if the nature of my business changes?
Your trade effluent consent is issued specifically in the name of your business, at the address of your trade premises and only permits you to discharge effluent specified in the consent. However, a consent can usually be changed as required. You must give United Utilities not less than seven days written notice of any of the following:
- any change to the process or the process materials or any other circumstances likely to alter the constituents of the trade effluent.
- any change to the name of your business / partnership.
- a change of ownership of the business premises.
On receipt of this information United Utilities will issue a new consent subject to agreement on any new substances and limits identified.
On issue of a new consent, or direction of an existing consent, a further direction can not be served by United Utilities earlier than two years from the date of such incorporation.
What do I do if my trade premises move?
You should contact your local RCTE in advance and provide written notice of your intention to change address. The necessary direction to your consent can then be arranged. Your current consent is only applicable for your current trading address.
What happens if I cease trading?
If you cease trading at your current premises or even if you just no longer discharge trade effluent to public sewer you should inform your local RCTE in advance so that we can make any necessary amendments including ensuring that your bill is corrected.
You will be required to return your trade effluent consent to United Utilities.
What about mobile businesses?
If your business does not have a permanent discharge point from where you discharge trade effluent to sewer then the waste you produce can not be classed as trade effluent. Effluent not classed as trade waste requires no special permission to be disposed of to public sewer. All discharges must be made to the foul sewer.
United Utilities will protect its assets through Section 111 of the Water Industry Act 1991 which states:
- no person shall throw, empty or turn or suffer to permit to be thrown or emptied or topass into any public sewer or into any drain or sewer communicating with a public sewer: -
- any matter likely to injure the sewer or drain to interfere with the free flow of its contents or to affect prejudicially the treatment and disposal of its contents; or
- any such chemical refuse or waste steam, or any such liquid of a temperature higher than one hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit, as by virtue of subsection (2) below is a prohibited substance; or
- any petroleum spirit or carbide of calcium.
What happens if the discharge is in breach of my consent conditions?
Your local RCTE will provide you with analysis results for every sample taken from your premises so it will be easy for you to keep a record of your compliance. If the discharge exceeds any of your consent parameters you will receive a formal letter highlighting the problem. Your local RCTE will be available to discuss the matter in more detail.
If the discharge regularly exceeds compliance against a particular parameter you will be required to produce an action plan detailing how you intend to return the effluent to compliance.
If compliance is not achieved enforcement may escalate to prosecution. More detail can be found in the United Utilities enforcement policy.
What do I do if I can't discharge to sewer?
If your trade generates waste that can't be discharged to sewer because it has been deemed unsuitable for discharge or you do not have access to the public sewer your waste can be removed from site by tanker and treated at a waste management centre.
In line with other waste management companies, United Utilities offers a waste management service.