Trade Effluent Consent

Section 118 of the Water Industry Act 1991 provides that the occupier of trade premises may discharge trade effluent into a sewerage undertaker's public sewers only if it does so with the undertaker's consent. The consent regime exists because trade effluent — unlike ordinary domestic sewage — can vary enormously in volume and composition, and unregulated discharges can damage sewers, disrupt sewage treatment processes, or create environmental hazards downstream.

Discharging trade effluent without the necessary consent is a criminal offence rather than merely a civil or regulatory matter. Where any trade effluent is discharged without such consent or other authorisation as is necessary for the purposes of this Chapter, the occupier of the premises shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction or on indictment. In practice, a business applies to its local sewerage undertaker for a trade effluent consent, which the undertaker can attach conditions to governing volume, rate of discharge, and permitted composition.