How to store and dispose of washwater when cleaning and disinfecting after an animal disease outbreak.
Cleaning (cleansing) and disinfecting after an outbreak of animal disease (for example, salmonella or avian flu) produces more washwater with higher concentrations of disinfectant than routine cleaning.
This guidance helps you:
If a notifiable disease is confirmed on your premises, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will advise you on cleaning standards and options you can take.
In most notifiable disease outbreaks, the occupier of the premises will be responsible for cleansing and disinfection and its cost. You must follow the instructions the APHA officer gives you on how to do this.
You must use a disinfectant approved by Defra for the disease.
If you clean and disinfect a free-range poultry farm, move poultry sheds to an area where you can contain the washwater, where possible.
You should use one of following methods to dispose of washwater, listed in order of preference.
The most environmentally-friendly option is to discharge washwater from cleaning and disinfecting to a foul sewer.
You must get approval from your wastewater service supplier before you discharge disinfectant washwater to a foul sewer.
If you choose this option, you must fulfil your business or commercial waste disposal responsibilities. These include checking your carrier is registered to dispose of waste and not allowing them to dispose of your waste illegally.
You must have an environmental permit to carry out landspreading, unless the Environment Agency says you do not need one.
If you want to dispose of washwater by landspreading, you must contact the Environment Agency first. They will then tell you if you need to apply for a permit or not.
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You must not landspread disinfectant washwater until the Environment Agency has either:
APHA may also ask you to store washwater for a set time period before landspreading.
If you need to apply for a permit, you should follow the guidance on environmental permits for discharges to surface water and groundwater. This includes details of the application forms you must fill in and how to submit them.
You must dispose of washwater at least:
Permit applications for landspreading disinfectant washwater can take up to 20 working days. You must pay an application fee. How much you pay will depend on the volume and materials used. The Environment Agency will advise you how much you need to pay after they have received your permit application.
If you need to store disinfectant washwater before you dispose of it, use your existing dirty water or effluent management storage systems if you can.
Make sure existing drains that serve yards and livestock buildings connect to the effluent management system. Unconnected drains can lead to uncontrolled polluting discharges.
If you clean and disinfect areas that are not connected to your storage system, you can:
You should avoid using a slurry store for disinfectant washwater.
If you add disinfectant washwater to a slurry store, all of the disinfectant washwater will become waste. In this case, you must apply for an environmental permit to landspread the entire contents of the store.
During an animal disease outbreak, you’ll produce more washwater than normal from:
To calculate how much washwater storage you need, consider the:
You must agree the location and construction of temporary washwater storage systems with the Environment Agency before you build them.
If you build a temporary lagoon, you must meet the rules for storing silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil (known as SSAFO).
The temporary lagoon must:
Avoid filling earth bank stores above ground level.
You must not use temporary washwater storage for more than 12 months.
The Environment Agency will provide advice, recommendations and authorisations on what you can do at your premises to make sure you lawfully dispose of your washwater.
You could face enforcement action and get an unlimited fine if you allow washwater or disinfectant to cause pollution by allowing it to enter:
You must fulfil your business or commercial waste disposal responsibilities. If you do not, you could face enforcement action and get an unlimited fine.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-disease-outbreak-prevent-pollution-from-cleaning-and-disinfection