Consenting and Enforcement

We regulate trade effluent discharges through the issue of legal documents called consents and by monitoring and undertaking enforcement activities.

Breaching consent conditions or the discharge of trade effluent without a consent is an offence and you may be subject to legal action if you do so. Please see our enforcement policy.

How to apply for a consent (non-household premises)

If you think that your business requires a trade effluent consent you will need to contact your retailer and complete an application form called a Trade Effluent Customer Application Form (TECAF). Once we have received the completed application and a drainage plan of your site from your retailer, we will process the application. We will keep both you and your retailer informed at key stages.

For a domestic customer at a domestic premises, in which case there will be no retailer, the TECAF can be submitted directly to Anglian Water. Please call us on: 03457 145 145.

Infographic showing timeline for trade effluent application

If your application is unsuccessful we'll provide the reason(s) as to why it has been refused. If we refuse to give consent, or the conditions of the consent are not as you require, or where Anglian Water has taken over two months to issue the consent, you have a right of appeal to Ofwat. However, we recommend that you discuss the matter with your retailer, who'll contact us on your behalf, before contacting Ofwat.

You have a responsibility to notify Anglian Water of any changes on site that may impact on your trade effluent consent. If you need to alter an existing consent, you must complete a TECAF and submit this to your retailer. If the application is successful, you will provided with a consent variation. A consent may have multiple variations in its lifetime. If you no longer need your consent, you must complete a TECAF and submit this to your retailer.

infographic with lifecycle of TE consent

Further information on Consent and Enforcement can be found below:

Switching suppliers

Most businesses (including public sector and not-for-profit organisations) can switch their water supplier and their sewerage supplier, much like you can in the energy and telecoms sector. Find out more on our Switching suppliers page.

Hazardous pollutants

As technology and science advances, our understanding of the effects of chemical and emerging substances on the environment is increasing. It's the responsibility of the discharger to be aware of hazardous pollutants in their trade effluent and to declare these on their application form. If you have an existing trade effluent consent, you must still self-declare these.

If you need a list of the substances we are currently interested in, please call 03457 145 145 and ask to speak to the Trade Effluent team.

Low risk discharges

Some low risk discharges are covered by process-specific Regulatory Position Statements (RPS), outlined below.

Draining of central heating & chilled water systems

Oven cleaning

Pet grooming

Office/retail cleaning

Guidance on discharging beer, cider etc. to the foul sewer in the Anglian Water region – 01/04/2021

Food Service Establishments (FSEs)

If your discharge is covered by a Regulatory Position Statement you will need to read it carefully and ensure that you comply with any requirements. If so, you will not need to apply for a trade effluent consent. However, if you can’t meet the requirements or are uncertain as to whether or not you can meet them, please contact your Retailer.

Temporary consents

Anglian Water can issue temporary consents for certain low-risk activities where the discharge is expected to last no more than 6 months. The process of applying for a temporary consent remains the same as above, by submitting a TECAF to your retailer.

Temporary consents are billed at the end of the consent period. It is your responsibility to provide the volume of trade effluent discharged during the consent period. If you do not provide this, you will be billed at 100% of the consented volume for the 6-month period.

Measuring trade effluent

Anglian Water may contact you or visit your premises to inspect, examine, take readings from and test at any time any works and apparatus installed in connection with the trade effluent and to take samples of the trade effluent. We have this right of access to the premises as per section 171 of The Water Industry Act 1991.

We may sample your trade effluent to assess the quality of the discharge and to determine the strength of the effluent for wholesale charging purposes. Trade effluent discharges which are comparatively innocuous will be sampled less frequently than those that represent a higher potential risk. You may be required to self-monitor your discharge.

Anglian Water may require you to install a private meter if the volume of the discharge is significant or is a significant proportion of the dry weather flow of the receiving Water Recycling Centre. Private meters are not the responsibility of Anglian Water. If you are installing a new meter, replacing an existing meter or think you might have a faulty private meter please complete the private meter form. Please note that we require a photograph of installed meters that clearly shows the meter details and meter read.

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