Water authorisations for sewage discharges - Northern Ireland

The Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 states the discharge of trade or sewage waste to any waterway, or any water contained underground requires the consent of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. This includes waste from any commercial, industrial or domestic premises not connected to the public sewer.

Domestic Sewage Discharge Consent Applications:

Apply and pay for your Domestic Consent to discharge waste from a single domestic property (Single domestic property only) or Transfer of Ownership online using the link below:

DARDNI: Domestic Consent Applications

Industrial / Commercial Discharge Consent Applications:

 For guidance and applications for these type of discharges use the links below\;

Complete appropriate annex for your industry type and submit with main application form WO1.

For sites of 2 or more dwellings, please first seek advice from NI Water regarding connection to the public sewer network. In the event that NI Water do not have capacity in their foul sewerage infrastructure you will need to apply to NI Water for a waste water impact assessment.
This will determine if there are any mitigation measures the developer can take to achieve a connection to NI Water infrastructure.

Please see https://www.niwater.com/services-for-developers(external link opens in a new window / tab) for further details.

If, following NI Water advice, developer constructed sewage treatment is the only option, a suitable treatment plant, which can meet the specification for NI Water adoption under an Article 161 agreement will be considered. An application for an industrial consent to discharge would then be required. Applications for multiple domestic consents for adjacent properties as part of a housing development are not likely to be approved.

Joint Applications for Waste and Water authorisations

Please note that for activities requiring a Waste Management Licence under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 or a Part B PPC permit under The Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013, a consent to discharge under the terms of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 may also be required.

It is now possible to apply for these permissions in parallel.

Further Information

DAERA: Regulating water discharges - https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/regulating-water-discharges

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