By Mike Callis, Business Development Manager, Waterscan
Trade effluent charges in the UK are set to climb steeply over the next three years, with water bill projections indicating increases of between 24% and 91% by 2030 alone in some regions. But this goes well beyond the PR24 pricing settlement and is being driven by a combination of regulatory tightening, environmental targets, and infrastructure investment.
Why now? What’s changed?
Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) the Environment Agency is ramping up monitoring requirements and enforcing stricter regulatory controls on water companies. This means utilities are investing heavily in upgrading wastewater treatment facilities to meet environmental goals. Investment costs that are being passed on to customers through higher tariffs.
For many businesses, this could translate to stricter controls on effluent they wish to discharge to a water company sewer and significant financial impact unless steps are taken to control and manage trade effluent effectively.
Mike Callis, Business Development Manager, Waterscan
What businesses are facing
Water companies are revising consent thresholds, seeking to reduce consent limits and volume allowances, whilst increasing sampling frequency and on site volume and quality monitoring requirements.
All of this not only raises compliance demands but also increases the risk of additional charges if not actively managed. It’s important to note that the potentially complex nature of trade effluent represents a significant risk of accidental environmental discharge for the water companies themselves, they cannot proactively treat for the unknown!
Complimenting the scrutiny on existing consents, it’s likely that we will see a continued programme of compliance monitoring aimed at ensuring all non-household operators declare their trade effluent consents appropriately. It’s important to note that any non-domestic style discharge is likely to be classed as trade effluent and may therefore require a specific consent from the water company. This ranges from commercial vehicle washes, commercial swimming pools, food, beverage right through to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Regardless of complexity of operations, it’s essential that non domestic style discharges are consented. Aside from environmental compliance, operating under a properly managed trade effluent consent and billing arrangement can serve to reduce effluent costs compared to standard discharge costs.
Looking ahead: Take action now
Start by reviewing your existing consent and associated billing, this is essential to gauge your risk and opportunity. Very often trade effluent is an area of legacy billing not reflective of current operations, presenting as much opportunity for cost mitigation as physical measures. Then it’s time to plan for the future. Investing in pre-treatment systems, monitoring technology, process improvements and increasingly looking towards effluent re-use. This can help reduce volumes and pollutant loads, avoiding penalties and limiting costs.
With sharper rises and increased scrutiny ahead, proactive management of trade effluent is no longer optional, it’s essential.
