Building Regs

Advice · Regulations

Compliance, in plain English.

Which UK rules touch water and wastewater tanks — potable supply, drainage, and septic discharge — and where to get the definitive answer for your project.

The four you’ll meet

Regulations that apply to tanks

POTABLE WATER

Water fittings & WRAS

nything storing or supplying drinking water must be food-grade materials and meet the Water Fittings Regulations. Please check with Water regs as to how you setup must be to comply https://www.dwi.gov.uk/drinking-water-standards-and-regulations/)

 

DRAINAGE

Building Regs Part H

Covers foul and surface-water drainage, including how overflow and discharge are handled. – check with your local authority.

SEPTIC

Septic tanks & treatment plants

Discharge is governed by the General Binding Rules (England), with equivalents elsewhere. VERIFY: GBR discharge conditions & registration. 

PLANNING

Planning permission

Larger or below-ground installations, and some septic systems, may need permission. This is crucial and will need to be checked.

Where you are matters

Nation-by-nation differences

Tanks-Direct is registered in Northern Ireland and supplies across the UK and Ireland — and the rules genuinely differ across borders.

EnglanD: Building ReGs
Scotland & Wales: The devolved rule to Differ
Northern Ireland: The devolved rule to Differ
The safe move: before ordering a septic tank or sewage treatment plant, confirm the occupancy count, discharge route and any registration with your environmental regulator. It’s the one step that’s expensive to get wrong and therefore a crucial part of the process.

Not sure which rules apply to you?

Tell us the project and location. We’ll point you to the right regulator and the right tank for it.