Trade Effluent Licensing and Charges
Licensing
Commercial activities discharging trade effluent to the public sewer require a licence under Section 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990, with large industrial or water management-based activities requiring a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trade effluent charges are often categorised into discharge fees (for conveyance and treating effluent) and Section 16 licensing and monitoring fees. For further details, visit our About Trade Effluent section.
Charges
Trade effluent customers are charged to have the wastewater they discharge to Uisce Éireann’s network treated. Uisce Éireann has maintained the previous trade effluent rates of each local authority which were applied on 31 December 2013. There are 34 different trade effluent charging regimes across the country.
Significant trade effluent customers located in 21 local authorities, are charged using individual charging arrangements or by the application of a Mogden formula, as described further below.
In the other 13 local authorities, significant trade effluent producers are charged the standard local authority wastewater volumetric unit rate.
If you have a query about your trade effluent charges, please contact us.
See below for further details on the different types of trade effluent charges that Uisce Éireann apply.
Individual arrangements
Some trade effluent customers have individual charging arrangements, specified in a Model Form Agreement (MFA) based on guidance provided in 2003 by the then Department of the Environment and Local Government. Other charging examples falling into this category are customers who have Trade Effluent (TE) charges specified in their IPC licence, and TE customers who are charged a specific wastewater unit rate that differs from the standard LA wastewater unit rate.
Local Authority Mogden formula
Some trade effluent customers are charged by way of a Mogden Formula. A Mogden formula calculates the charges to collect, treat and dispose of effluent. Various components of treatment, for example Volume, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) or Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Suspended Solids (SS) are separate inputs to the formula. Use of the formula enables each customer’s charge to be set based on both the volume and strength of effluent discharged to the public network.
The Mogden formula requires TE monitoring and sampling in order to derive the inputs to calculate the charge and is typically applied to larger industrial customers who have a Section 16 or IPC licence.
Wastewater volumetric charge
Customers located in 13 local authorities are charged for the Trade Effluent discharge based on the applicable wastewater volumetric charge per m3.
The future of Trade Effluent charges
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities opened a public consultation on Trade Effluent charges in December 2024. For further information on UÉ’s proposals and to have your say please visit the CRU’s website:
New trade effluent charges, once implemented, will likely result in a more standardised approach to TE charging once implemented.