Trade effluent licences
Learn what trade effluent is and when your business needs a licence for it.
Trade Effluent Explained
Trade effluent is any liquid waste discharged from a business premises to the public sewers. These discharges vary in nature, composition, and volume depending on the business activity. They do not include domestic sewage or sanitary wastewater from domestic type activities like hand-washing, showering and flushing toilets.
There is also varying capacity in our sewers and wastewater treatment plants. We have a responsibility to protect public health, our operations and the environment. This means we must carefully assess and regulate all discharges to our sewer network.
You must have a trade effluent licence granted by Uisce Éireann or a licence granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discharge trade effluent to the sewer.
Licences to discharge trade effluent
rish law requires trade effluent discharges to sewer to be regulated by Uisce Éireann or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The type and scale of activity at the customers premises decides which regulatory authority is responsible.
Uisce Eireann is responsible for licences when commercial and industrial activities fall below EPA activity thresholds. We grant trade effluent licences in accordance with Section 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 & 1990.
The EPA is responsible for licences from activities listed in the First Schedule of the Environment Protection Agency Act. However, businesses requiring EPA licences and the EPA themselves must consult with Uisce Éireann on any trade effluent discharge to the sewer sewer network.
Businesses requiring EPA licences generally operate as much larger-scale Industries. The EPA website has information on whether your business activity needs an EPA licence.
Who needs a licence
Trade effluent is produced from the manufacturing processes associated with many everyday items and through activities that many of us enjoy. These include:
Apply for a licence
Disposing of fats oil and grease (FOG)
Prevent costly blockages on your premises and in your local area. Learn how to dispose of fat, oils and grease originating from food products properly.
Compliance and Enforcement
Wastewater entering the public sewer system is treated and returned safely to the environment. Trade effluent controls make sure that discharge does not negatively affect the recycling process or the environment. We also must protect public health, including our own staff working on sampling, sewer networks, treatment and wastewater infrastructure.
A licence sets legal conditions and limits on your trade effluent discharge. It’s your responsibility to manage your effluent within these conditions.
Licence conditions generally relate to:
- The nature, composition and volume of the trade effluent discharge
- Trade effluent pre-treatment, discharge location and when discharge can be made
- Monitoring, sampling & analysis of trade effluent
- Notifications, record keeping and reporting
- Applicable charges as approved by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
Discharging trade effluent without a licence is an offence. You may be subject to legal action if you do so.
Most licences contain limits for at least one of these parameters:
Controlled to prevent flooding and make sure our sewers, pumping stations and wastewater treatment works are not overloaded.
A measure of acidity or alkalinity, it is controlled to protect our sewers, pumping stations and wastewater treatment works.
Controlled to protect staff working in our sewers and minimise odours.
How much an effluent consumes oxygen during decomposition of organic matter and oxidation of inorganic chemicals. We control this so there is no negative impact on biological processes during wastewater treatment.
Measuring the particles in trade effluent, we control it so settlement does not cause blockages in the sewers.
Controlled to prevent blockages in our sewers and pumping stations, and to protect wastewater treatment processes.
Controlled to prevent any corrosion of concrete sewers, pumping and wastewater treatment assets. It's also controlled to avoid odours.
Sampling
To check compliance and for charging, we may take samples of your trade effluent. You must provide a safe, accessible sampling or monitoring point to take samples on your premises.
How often we take samples depends on the risk to Uisce Éireann operations and the environment, along with charging requirements. Significant discharges with high levels of pollutants are sampled more frequently.
Most licences contain self monitoring requirements. This means your business must sample its own trade effluent and report the results to Uisce Éireann. This sampling frequency is detailed in your licence.
Audits and Inspections
We also carry out audits and inspections at business premises:
- To ensure businesses comply with trade effluent licences and legislation
- In response to incidents or non-compliance
- To check you have completed recommendations or action items
- Your business receives a report after each audit. It sets out the findings, observations, recommendations and action items.