Any liquid waste discharged from business premises to the public sewers is called trade effluent. Businesses must have a Trade Effluent Licence to discharge trade effluent into the sewer.
Irish Water and the EPA regulate trade effluents that are discharged to the sewer. To discharge trade effluent into the sewer, you must have a licence for trade effluent or an EPA license. The regulatory authority that licences trade effluent to be discharged into the sewer will depend on the type and extent of the activity.

A Trade Effluent Licence sets out conditions that businesses must comply with. These may include: The nature, composition and volume of the trade effluent discharge the method of treatment, the location of discharge and the periods during which discharge may be made the taking and analysis of trade effluent samples and the trade effluent records that must be kept Applicable charges for discharging trade effluent, as approved by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) – Irish Water.