Property wastewater systems

• New building: The cleaning requirements apply to new construction immediately. This has been the case since 2004.
• Properties built before 2004:
  • Coastal area or groundwater area: the transition period continues until October 31, 2019, meaning the system must meet the cleaning requirement by then.
  • Areas other than coastal or groundwater areas: repairing the wastewater system so that the cleaning requirement is met, at the latest in connection with certain repair and modification works requiring a permit. The property owner can therefore use his own discretion in the renewal schedule of the wastewater system.
• Faulty or broken wastewater systems or systems that pose a risk of environmental pollution: repaired immediately.

If the property is located within 100 m of the shore, the property is located in the transition period area. The distance to the watercourse is measured from the wall of the building producing wastewater to the shoreline at the mean water level.

Syke's map service provides a guide to the distance referred to in the Environmental Protection Act. A case-by-case examination must be carried out in the field. The property can be searched for on the map by location name using the search tool, the map's zoom-in (+) and zoom-out (-) tools, or the mouse wheel.

In a groundwater area, the transition period is considered to apply to a property if the wastewater treatment system is located within the boundary of the groundwater area: in a groundwater area, attention is therefore paid to the wastewater treatment system itself, not to the building producing wastewater. 

The boundaries of groundwater areas can be viewed in the Paikkatietoikkuna map service. You can search for a property on the map by place name using the search tool or using the mouse scroll button.

Which renovations require a wastewater system upgrade?

• Renovations that extend the life of a water system, building or entire property.
• Construction of a water toilet.
• Repair and modification work on water and sewage systems requiring a permit, in which the system is renewed.

• The basic cleaning requirement does not apply to properties that do not have a flush toilet and that generate a small amount of wash water (e.g. summer cottages with running water).
• Owners of permanently occupied properties who were born before March 9, 1943 are subject to an age-based exemption and are not subject to the basic cleaning requirement. However, an age-based exemption is not possible for leisure properties.
• In coastal and groundwater areas, it is possible to apply for additional time if the load caused by wastewater is minor or if repairing the wastewater system is considered unreasonable for the property owner. A derogation permit is granted upon application for a maximum of five years at a time. A derogation permit is applied for Kankaanpää City Environmental Protection on the form (Application for a derogation permit for wastewater treatment).