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About Trade Effluent
Trade effluent is any liquid waste that is discharged from a business premises to the public sewers. You must have a Trade Effluent Licence to discharge trade effluent to the sewer.
Trade Effluent Discharges
Trade effluent discharges vary in their nature, composition, and volume depending on the business. There is also varying capacity in our sewers and wastewater treatment plants which means Irish Water must carefully assess and regulate all discharges to our sewer network in order to ensure that public health, our operations and the environment are fully protected.
Trade Effluent Licence
Trade effluent discharges to sewer are regulated by Irish Water or the EPA. You must have an Irish Water Trade Effluent Licence or an EPA licence to discharge trade effluent to the sewer. The type and scale of activity will determine the regulatory authority responsible for licensing the trade effluent discharged to the sewer.
A Trade Effluent Licence sets out conditions that businesses must comply with. These may include:
- The nature, composition and volume of the trade effluent discharge
- The method of treatment, the location of discharge and the periods during which discharge may be made
- The taking and analysis of trade effluent samples and the trade effluent records that must be kept
- Applicable charges for discharging trade effluent, as approved by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
Licence Fees and Charges
The licence application fee is a once off payment and currently stands at €380. Charges for the provision of general water & wastewater services shall be as per charges as set out in Irish Water’s Charges Plan.
Businesses that require a Trade Effluent Licence
The following list gives examples of the types of businesses that should have a Trade Effluent Licence:
Food Service Establishments: restaurants, cafes, chippers, canteens where food is prepared, pubs where food is prepared etc are required to have a Trade Effluent FOG licence due to the fats, oils and grease content of their trade effluent
Industrial Sector
The following list gives examples of the different industrial sectors that should have a Trade Effluent Licence: