General binding rules for small domestic sewage discharges

The exemption

1. The discharge must not cause pollution of groundwater or surface water.
2. For surface water, the discharge must not exceed five cubic metres per day. For groundwater, the discharge must not exceed two cubic metres per day. 
3. The discharge could not reasonably be made to the public sewer. 
4. The rules must be met in respect of source protection zones and sensitive areas, the details of which are set out in the EP Regulations 2016.
5. The discharge must not be from a septic tank into surface waters. The exemption only applies to discharges from septic tanks into groundwater or from sewage treatment plants into surface waters or groundwater. 
6. The equipment from which the small domestic sewage discharge is made must comply with the relevant requirements and standards on design, construction, siting, installation and capacity, must be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s specification and by a competent person, and must be decommissioned when the facility stops operating. The waste sludge must be safely disposed of by a registered waste carrier and properly managed at a permitted waste facility. 
7. For new discharges (those that started on or after 1 January 2015), all necessary planning and building control approvals must be in place: there are ‘minimum distance from sensitive area’ requirements that must be met; there are limitations on the type of surface water that can be discharged into; and they must not be within 30 metres of a public sewer. 
8. The discharge must not contain any trade effluent. 

Other things that should be considered if you are thinking about buying a property with a small domestic sewage discharge on the land include:

• Whether it qualifies for the exemption;
• Whether it complies with planning legislation or building regulations;
• Where the drainage field for it is on adjoining land, whether there is an easement;
• Where it is on adjoining land and managed jointly with another landowner or by a third party, whether there is a written maintenance agreement;
• Where it is located on someone else’s property, whether there are appropriate rights to access it and obligations in respect of repair and maintenance; and  
• Whether it is defective (a defective small domestic sewage discharge could cause contamination problems that require remediation).

Do you own a property that has a small domestic sewage discharge?

If you own a property that has a small domestic sewage discharge on the land or are considering buying such a property, please contact an expert listed below or find out more about our residential property & conveyancing services here.