Permit To Discharge

If you need a permit to discharge you will need to apply to either the EA or the water company.

The Environment Agency controls discharges to controlled waters (surface water and groundwater). The local water company grants permits for trade effluent to the local sewerage network.

Permit To Discharge Trade Effluent

This is granted by the local Utilities company and allows businesses such as food factories etc to discharge to the foul sewer. Effluents into the foul sewer can be quite polluting and may need some form of pre-treatment.

Permits To Discharge To A Controlled Watercourse

These environmental permits or “consents” are granted by the Environment Agency. You can discharge to surface water (rivers) or Groundwater (borehole or drainage field). You will need to do a percolation test to ensure the ground will not flood and can accept extra water volume.

In some instances you can discharge a mixture of treated sewage effluent and trade effluent. However the receiving watercourse must be capable therefore of accepting the extra volume.

When deciding to apply for either a trade effluent consent or environmental permit. You will need to know the characteristics of the effluent and the volumes you wish to discharge. You will need to take samples in order to know what is in your effluent. Most factories can easily what is in their effluent by identifying the chemicals in their MSDS or COSHH data sheets.

We have helped many industrial businesses. We can help you apply for the correct permit and can help with all of the data and analysis.

All permits, whether trade effluent or surface water may require some form of water modelling. The receiving water course or sewer must be capable of accepting your effluent.

Call us today if you are experiencing problems with trade or surface water discharges. We can help you comply and potentially save you money with your effluent discharges.