Effluent testing service
For businesses discharging process or waste water to the sewer or a watercourse. The determinands a water company's trade effluent consent typically sets limits on: BOD, COD, suspended and settleable solids, dissolved solids, sulphate, conductivity, pH, copper and zinc. Results you can put in front of the water authority.
- Who it's for
- Food and beverage Business, farm and industrial
- What the lab checks
- 11 parameters, each shown against its guideline. See the full list.
- What you get back
- The laboratory certificate, results in plain English, and a Pozzani engineer's review of anything over the guideline.
- In the kit
- Sample bottles for the effluent determinands, sampling instructions, and packaging for sending your samples to the laboratory.
- Questions first?
- Call 01507 608 100 or message us and we'll point you to the right test.
What the lab checks for
11 parameters, each with its guideline
Guideline values follow the Trade effluent consent (Water Industry Act 1991). Your results are shown against these, with the laboratory's exact wording kept alongside.
| Parameter | Guideline | |
|---|---|---|
| Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD, 5 day + ATU) (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | How much oxygen bacteria use breaking down the organic matter in the water. The headline measure of effluent strength. |
| Chemical oxygen demand (COD) (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | The oxygen needed to chemically oxidise everything in the water. Quicker than BOD and always higher. |
| Total suspended solids (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | The solid matter held in the water, by weight. Drives treatment charges and silts up sewers. |
| Suspended solids after 1 hour settlement (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | The solids still suspended after an hour standing: what a settlement tank would not remove. |
| Settleable solids (1 hour) (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | The solids that drop out within an hour: what a settlement tank or interceptor would catch. |
| Total dissolved solids (180 °C) (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | Everything dissolved in the water, weighed after drying at 180 °C. Salts, minerals and process chemicals. |
| Sulphate (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | From natural minerals. High values taste bitter and can have a laxative effect. |
| Conductivity (µS/cm) | Per your discharge consent | Overall dissolved mineral content. |
| pH (pH units) | Per your discharge consent | Acidity. Low pH can dissolve metals from pipework. |
| Copper (mg/l) | Per your discharge consent | From copper pipework, especially with soft or acidic water. |
| Zinc (µg/l) | Per your discharge consent | From galvanised pipes and fittings. A taste parameter rather than a health one in England. |
What's in the kit
Everything you need to take the sample
Sample bottles for the effluent determinands, sampling instructions, and packaging for sending your samples to the laboratory.
Taking the sample
Ten minutes, then post it the same day
Full instructions come with the kit. In short: sample from the point named in your consent (usually the final discharge chamber or manhole) while the process is running, fill each bottle to the line, keep them cool but not frozen, and send them to the laboratory the same day in the packaging provided. BOD and solids samples should reach the laboratory within 24 hours of sampling.