Environment & Sustainability UK-wide

Meet your sewerage regulatory duties

A sewerage business must hold an appointment as a sewerage undertaker (or be exempt), hold environmental permits for its discharges, meet urban waste water treatment standards and comply with sewage sludge controls when spreading to agricultural land. This guide takes you through each regulatory duty in turn.

Guide summary

Check if you need an appointment as a sewerage undertaker. Get an environmental permit before discharging any effluent or waste water to water or ground. Meet urban waste water treatment standards if you collect and treat sewage. Discharging without a permit is a criminal offence with up to 5 years imprisonment and unlimited fine.

  • Get an appointment as a sewerage undertaker from Ofwat if you provide sewerage services in England or Wales
  • Apply for an environmental permit before discharging effluent to surface water or groundwater
  • Use a standard rules permit for small discharges (up to 5 m³/day) – fee £136
  • Bespoke permits take up to 4 months to process and cost more
  • Discharging without a permit is a criminal offence – up to 5 years in prison and unlimited fine
  • Meet secondary treatment standards for urban waste water, with stricter treatment in sensitive areas
  • Keep records of discharge quality and submit them to the Environment Agency
  • Pay an annual subsistence fee while you hold the permit
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Related guides in Compliance & Legal

Sewerage: compliance checklist

Use this checklist to confirm your sewerage business (SIC division 37) meets its obligations. Work through the workplace …

The sewerage industry is regulated by Ofwat as the economic regulator in England and Wales. The Environment Agency (England), Natural Resources Wales, SEPA (Scotland) and NIEA (Northern Ireland) enforce environmental permits for discharges and waste water treatment standards. In Scotland, Scottish Water provides public sewerage under the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968, with retail competition regulated by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. In Northern Ireland, NI Water operates under the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, regulated by the Utility Regulator. Work through each section that applies to your business.

A. Appointment as a sewerage undertaker

In England and Wales, sewerage services are provided by undertakers appointed and economically regulated by Ofwat under the Water Industry Act 1991. Undertakers operate under an instrument of appointment with binding conditions on charging, service standards and performance. SIC 37.00 also captures smaller non-undertaker operators — cesspool and septic-tank emptying, drain and sewer maintenance, portable-toilet servicing — for whom undertaker appointment does not apply; their core obligations are the discharge and waste controls below and the cross-cutting universals in the spine.

B. Environmental permits for discharges

Discharging treated effluent or sewage to surface water or groundwater is a water discharge activity requiring an environmental permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Permit conditions set numeric limits on flow and pollutant concentrations; breach is a criminal offence. In Scotland the equivalent is a CAR licence from SEPA; in Northern Ireland a discharge consent from NIEA.

C. Urban waste water treatment standards

Sewerage undertakers collecting and treating urban waste water must meet the minimum collection and treatment standards set by the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 — secondary (biological) treatment for most agglomerations, with stricter tertiary treatment in designated sensitive areas. Devolved equivalents apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

D. Sewage sludge controls

Spreading sewage sludge on agricultural land is controlled under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989. The sludge producer must test and treat the sludge, test the receiving soil, keep records and limit heavy-metal loadings. Sludge spreading is commonly also regulated under the environmental permitting or waste regime. The regulator is the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA in Scotland and NIEA in Northern Ireland.

  1. 1

    1. Secure your appointment as a sewerage undertaker (if applicable)

    If you operate a sewerage network, apply to Ofwat for an appointment or WSSL. Smaller operators (cesspool emptiers, drain contractors) skip this step.

  2. 2

    2. Hold your environmental permits for discharges

    Apply for water discharge permits for treated effluent and sewage discharges.

  3. 3

    3. Meet urban waste water treatment standards

    Comply with the treatment-level requirements for your agglomeration size and any sensitive-area designation.

  4. 4

    4. Comply with sewage sludge controls when spreading to agricultural land

    Test sludge and soil, keep records and limit heavy-metal loadings.

What to do next

With the regulatory duties in place and the workplace spine operating, confirm the whole picture with the sewerage compliance checklist. Start from the router if you are not sure which guides apply to you.

Official sources

Authoritative guidance on sewerage regulation.