Horse manure
Horse manure, like any farmyard manures can be a valuable source of nutrients for plant growth. Storage of manure in manure piles can cause problems with run-off.
What you must do
You must prevent any run-off from manure heaps or contaminated yard areas from entering surface water drains or watercourses.
Before discharging sewage, effluent, or any contaminated run-off into the water environment, you must have authorisation from your environmental regulator. Any run-off will generally need considerable treatment to meet the conditions of that authorisation before it can be legally discharged.
Drain to sewers
Trade effluent is any liquid waste you discharge from your business.
Before you discharge trade effluent into a public sewer you must have a trade effluent consent or enter into a trade effluent agreement with your water or sewerage company or authority. You must comply with the conditions of your consent or agreement.
If you do not have the appropriate authorisation to discharge to sewer or watercourses, then you will need to collect dirty water in a sealed tank for disposal. You must use an authorised waste carrier/transporter of waste if you use a contractor.
Transporters of waste (waste carriers), brokers and dealers
Good practice
You should place heaps of horse manure and bedding where there is no risk of run-off polluting watercourses. They should be at least 10 metres from a watercourse and 50 metres from a well, spring or borehole that supplies water for human consumption or for use in dairy farms.
Permanent manure stores should have an impermeable base that slopes so that run-off can be collected easily in a sealed underground tank.
You should dispose of manure by spreading it on land where it is of agricultural benefit. If you spread manure and effluent you need to be aware of limitations on landspreading.