Wastewaters in sparsely populated areas

Property owners must be familiar with the wastewater treatment methods used on their property, as well as how they function and the type of maintenance they need. Property holders or owners are responsible for ensuring the adequacy of the treatment of wastewater on their property. If necessary, property holders must resort to expert services to make sure that their wastewater is treated appropriately. Reports and instructions are to be kept at the property and presented to the Environmental and Licensing Board upon request. In addition to households, the provisions of the decree apply to dairy rooms on livestock farms and businesses located in sparsely populated areas when these do not require an environmental permit. Environmental permits provide regulations on the treatment of waste water from animal shelters and companies subject to an environmental permit.

According to the corresponding decree and law, wastewater treatment systems on dry land properties must meet the standard level treatment requirement in the following cases:

a water toilet is being built or repair and modification work subject to authorisation is being carried out on the water and sewage systems, in which the system is being reformed or repaired in its entirety; or
repairs and modifications comparable to the construction of a building, requiring a building permit, are being carried out.

In the case of new construction, properties’ wastewater systems must be determined early on when applying for a building permit.

In coastal and groundwater areas, the wastewater systems in old properties are required to meet the decree provisions by 31 October 2019 at the latest. Coastal and groundwater areas refer to areas located at a maximum distance of 100 metres from a body of water or the sea, or a groundwater area that is used for water procurement or that is suitable for water procurement.

In some cases, it is possible to apply for an exemption from wastewater treatment requirements after 31 October 2019.
Please check in the map service if your property is located in a transition area regarding wastewater legislation. SYKE map service

Treatment requirements

Standard level treatment requirements regarding domestic wastewater state that wastewater must be treated in such a way that the load on the environment is reduced by at least 80 percent for organic matter, at least 70 percent for total phosphorus and at least 30 percent for total nitrogen compared to untreated wastewater.

Properties located in the water services' operating area must join the City's water supply and sewage system, unless they have been granted an exemption. Exemption from the obligation to join can be granted by the Environmental and Licensing Board.

Construction or modification of a wastewater system

Building a property-specific wastewater system or changing existing systems requires a permit from the municipality's construction supervision authority.

Exemption from wastewater treatment requirements

The municipality's environmental protection authority may, by application, grant an exemption from the requirements for a maximum of five years at a time, if the burden on the environment is considered significantly low or the required actions would be unreasonably extensive for the holder of the property.

Exemptions are granted only in special cases. You may apply for an exemption if your property will be connected to the sewage system in the next few years or the cost of renewing your sewage system is unreasonably high
A property holder's old age, long-term unemployment or long-term illness can also be grounds for granting an exception
If the ownership of a property changes or the amount of wastewater increases, the exemption permit will expire
In all of the exceptional cases mentioned above, wastewater systems must be functional and not cause pollution
The processing of exemption applications is subject to a fee

Forms for applying for an exemption can be obtained from the environmental protection authority.