Replace your septic tank for a sewage treatment plant which produces water that’s clean enough to discharge straight to a waterway. It uses mechanical parts to oxygenate the microorganisms. This makes them more effective at treating effluent and means they can discharge treated wastewater into flowing water or a drain field.

Install a soakaway system or a drain field. Essentially, these take the wastewater from your septic tank, and discharge it safely into the ground without causing pollution. Septic drain fields are sub surface waste water disposal facilities used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges after anaerobic digestion in a septic tank.

If you’re selling your property the ‘General Binding Rules’ stipulate that you must replace your system with a compliant system prior to selling your home. It is also the seller’s duty to inform potential buyers in writing if a property has a septic tank – including its maintenance requirements and its exact location.

Your sewage treatment system must be large enough to handle the maximum amount of sewage it will need to treat. If you install a new small sewage treatment plant you must check that it meets the sizing requirements in British Water’s Flows and Loads 4 guidance.
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If the amount of sewage the system needs to treat increases (for example, because you’ve extended your property or connected an additional property) you must make sure the treatment system is still big enough. You must also recalculate the maximum daily volume of your discharge and apply for a permit if it is more than 5 cubic metres (5,000 litres) a day.