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Answer a few questions about your tank, plant or cesspool and where it drains. See which General Binding Rules apply, each linked to GOV.UK.

What do you have? A septic tank an underground tank where solids sink and the liquid flows out A small sewage treatment plant also called a package plant; it has mechanical parts and treats the water to a higher standard A cesspool or cesspit a sealed tank that holds everything until it's emptied, with no outlet I'm not sure

Where does the liquid go? Into the ground through a drainage field perforated pipes laid in trenches, or a drainage mound Into a soakaway a pit or crates of the kind used for rainwater Into a well, borehole, shaft or concrete rings Into a ditch, stream, river, pond or other surface water I'm not sure

When was the soakaway put in? Before 2008 In 2008 or later I don't know

When did the discharge start?

Count it as starting again if it was moved more than 10 metres, switched between the ground and a watercourse, or increased above the daily limit.

Before 1 January 2015 From 1 January 2015 to 1 October 2023 On or after 2 October 2023, or it hasn't started yet I don't know

Is there a public foul sewer within 30 metres of any boundary of the property?

For one house. The distance is longer for more than one property or a business.

Yes No I don't know

Is the discharge point in a groundwater source protection zone 1, or within 50 metres of someone's spring, well or borehole used for drinking water? Yes No, I've checked I don't know

How much does it discharge a day?

The limit is 2 cubic metres (2,000 litres) a day to the ground, or 5 cubic metres to surface water.

I've worked it out and it's within the limit I've worked it out and it's over the limit I haven't worked it out

Did it meet the British Standard when it was installed? It was installed before 1983 Yes it has a CE mark, a certificate of compliance in its paperwork, or it's on British Water's approved list I don't know

When was it last emptied? Within the last month Within the last year More than a year ago, or never I don't know

Are you buying or selling the property? Selling Buying Neither

Rules for England, from the Environment Agency's guidance on GOV.UK, checked 14/10/2026. Your answers stay in your browser.

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