Industrial water auditing and trade effluent monitoring help processing and manufacturing businesses stay compliant and save money

Detectronic is a specialist in providing trade effluent services. The Environment Agency (EA) and the water companies are responsible for the quality and quantity of wastewater entering the watercourses. They control the amount and type of effluent going into wastewater treatment works (WwTW). Treatment plants are complex operations and as a result, have a limited capacity.

Industrial water means water used in industrial or commercial activities. Water used as a by-product in the production of food, beverages, paper, clothing or even the detergents we use is classed as industrial wastewater. Regardless of how that water is treated during the production process, certain pathogens, nutrients and organics need to be removed before the water, or trade effluent enters the watercourse.

Do I Need a Discharge Consent?

Industry produces vast volumes of trade effluent that ranges in volume from a few litres to hundreds and thousands of litres a day. Some industrial wastewater may be toxic and if released into the watercourse could certainly have devastating polluting effects. Therefore, many companies must monitor and control discharge levels, before releasing it into rivers and streams, or into the wastewater sewer network.

You must obtain a consent licence from the water authority in order to discharge trade effluent. The consent specifies limits for discharge. It is made up of the volume and chemical content, or quality of the water.

Depending on the nature of the effluent, charges are likely to include:

• Volume and flow rate of wastewater
• COD/BOD
• Settled solids
• Suspended solids

Wastewater from trade premises will be different from the wastewater of an industrial plant, therefore every consent will be different and may also include additional parameters relevant to the process. Companies face substantial fines, and criminal prosecution for breaching the limits of the consent. The maximum fine is currently £40,000, hence the need to take monitoring industrial wastewater seriously.

Most noteworthy is that you are responsible by law, to keep the water company informed of changes. In the event that something changes in your process, in the same way, it also changes the effluent being discharged. If you are planning changes or are expanding, you should evaluate any impact on your discharges. If it is significant enough to take you outside the confines of your existing licence, you must apply for a modification to your consent. Detectronic’s trade effluent services team can help and advise on any queries you may have.

How Does the EA or the Water Company Check the Effluent?

If you don’t have monitoring equipment in place, trade effluent officers working for the water company will take spot samples of the water to calculate your bills. COD and BOD attract higher charges as it strips the oxygen out of the water.

If you’re unsure what is being discharged and don’t want an unexpected bill, or you’ve received a bill that is higher than you expected, a short term flow and load survey can help. The problem with spot samples is that the wastewater taken may not be representative of the site. A flow and load survey can provide more accurate information taken over a period of time and can be used to query or challenge a bill. As part of our industrial trade effluent services, we can provide a comprehensive flow and survey.