If your house or business is not connected to the mains sewer, your sewage will go to one of the following:

• a septic tank – an underground tank where the solids sink to the bottom and the liquid flows out and soaks through the ground

• a small sewage treatment plant (also known as a package treatment plant) – a part-mechanical system that treats the liquid so it’s clean enough to go into a river or stream

• a cesspool (also called a cesspit) – a sealed tank that collects the sewage• a non-standard system, such as a reed bed or trench arch system

If you have a septic tank that discharges directly to a surface water you will need to replace or upgrade your treatment system by 1 January 2020. Where properties with septic tanks that discharge directly to surface water are sold before 1 January 2020, responsibility for the replacement or upgrade of the existing treatment system should be addressed between the buyer and seller as a condition of sale. If the Environment Agency finds evidence that your septic tank discharging to a surface water is causing pollution, you will need to replace or upgrade your system earlier than 1 January 2020. You will usually have to do this within 1 year, although this will be agreed on a case-by-case basis.

You may be able to:

• connect to mains sewer – where available
• install a drainage field (also known as an infiltration system) so the septic tank can discharge to ground instead
• replace your septic tank with a small sewage treatment plant.

Information sourced from:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/general-binding-rules-small-sewage-discharge-to-a-surface-water?fbclid=IwAR3WHh2zqnbmxlu-pec-R2qGWse-XEQ6UoEva2IulBr33IjMYwSWWMUBpl4