soaking hay-waste water

MotherOfChickens

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Hi
sorry, I know this has been discussed before and have tried searching to no avail. Is the waste water from soaking hay bad for the environment and subject to disposal other than tipping it away? (not on mains sewage)

TIA
 
Someone on another forum asked the Environment Agency and they said it was not considered toxic waste such as silage run off but to empty onto a grassy area not into top water drains or water courses.
If in doubt check.
 
Extremely polluting if discharged down the drains or straight into a watercourse, it has a high Biological Oxygen Demand that will strip a watercourse of oxygen. Depending on soil types and any vulnerable groundwater I'd say better to spread it across ground. At least then there is some biological treatment before it reaches water. Please don't empty it into a drain. As a guide, discharges of treated sewage effluent to ground (ie septic tank to drainage field) are exempt from permitting if less than 2m cubed a day. If you are getting rid of significant quantities I'd be asking the EA, if just a couple of buckets full then I would spread it across grassland.
 
I do empty mine into a ditch but the residents along the lane where my yard is have some kind of sewage treatment system by which their waste water is also into the ditch so i figure a but of hay water cant be too bad!
 
Their waste water should be treated before it enters the ditch therefore at an acceptable level for discharge. Please don't empty your waste water into the ditch, it is a polluting discharge and therefore illegal to do so.
 
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