Trade Effluent Licensing and Charges

Commercial activities discharging trade effluent to the public sewer require a licence under Section 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990, with large industrial or water management-based activities requiring a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trade effluent charges are often categorised into discharge fees (for conveyance and treating effluent) and Section 16 licensing and monitoring fees. For further details, visit our About Trade Effluent section.

Trade effluent customers are charged to have the wastewater they discharge to Uisce Éireann's network treated. Uisce Éireann has maintained the previous trade effluent rates of each local authority which were applied on 31 December 2013. There are 34 different trade effluent charging regimes across the country.

Significant trade effluent customers located in 21 local authorities, are charged using individual charging arrangements or by the application of a Mogden formula, as described further below.

In the other 13 local authorities, significant trade effluent producers are charged the standard local authority wastewater volumetric unit rate.

If you have a query about your trade effluent charges, please contact us.

See below for further details on the different types of trade effluent charges that Uisce Éireann apply.

Individual arrangements

Some trade effluent customers have individual charging arrangements, specified in a Model Form Agreement (MFA) based on guidance provided in 2003 by the then Department of the Environment and Local Government. Other charging examples falling into this category are customers who have Trade Effluent charges specified in their Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence, and trade effluent customers who are charged a specific wastewater unit rate that differs from the applicable Framework wastewater volumetric charge

Local Authority Mogden formula

Some trade effluent customers are charged by way of a Mogden Formula. A Mogden formula  calculates the charges to collect, treat and dispose of effluent. Various components of treatment, for example Volume, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) or Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Suspended Solids (SS) are separate inputs to the formula.  Use of the formula enables each customer's charge to be set based on both the volume and strength of effluent discharged to the public network.

The Mogden formula requires trade effluent monitoring and sampling in order to derive the inputs to calculate the charge and is typically applied to larger industrial customers who have a Section 16 or IPC licence.

Wastewater volumetric charge

Customers located in 13 local authorities are charged for Trade Effluent discharged based on the applicable Framework wastewater volumetric charge per m³.

Following a public consultation the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has published its decision on an updated Non-Domestic Tariff Framework:

The CRU’s decision provides the integration of national harmonised trade effluent charging arrangements into the Framework. New trade effluent tariffs will not come into effect until 1^st October 2026. This is to provide customers with sufficient time to plan for the change and to enable Uisce Éireann to make the necessary system and operational changes to implement harmonised national trade effluent charging arrangements. As part of a future consultation, new trade effluent tariffs will be set and will apply from 1^st October 2026. Uisce Éireann will maintain the existing local authorities trade effluent charging arrangements until this date.

For further information on the new trade effluent charging arrangements please see links below

• Download our Customer information paper which outlines the latest CRU decision and includes case study examples using indicative trade effluent tariffs charges (see section 5)

New trade effluent charging arrangements, once implemented on 1st October 2026, will replace the current range of charging structures. This will provide benefits by creating a system of trade effluent charging that is simpler than what exists today, more transparent and achieves greater equity across trade effluent customers by introducing a consistent and cost reflective set of charging arrangements to all trade effluent customers.