Is Your Wastewater Discharge pH a ‘Red Tag’ Risk?

When did you last test your wastewater discharge pH?

If you have any form of wastewater being discharged, whether from manufacturing & production to cleaning & sanitizing practices – such as the wastewater coming from pressure washing your equipment and vehicles – your business may be subject to both local and State Water Board wastewater discharge regulations. Outside testing is increasing, and violators can be ‘red tagged’, which can result in having to suspend operations and potential fines. There are ways you can avoid the risk of the ‘red tag’.

Through the Water Discharge Requirements Program (WDR), California State and local Water Board agencies monitor and limit the levels of industrial wastewater contaminants a facility is allowed to discharge into sewers and waterways. And part of the way they assess this is through pH testing.

Acidic or Alkaline?

Wastewater discharge management is about keeping untreated pollutants out of groundwater and sewers through responsible practices. To comply with pH discharge limits, commercial production and manufacturing industries are required to implement a wastewater pretreatment or disposal program. pH tests assess whether your wastewater falls within an approved range – usually pH 6-10. The most preferred is pH 7 – neutral. A pH lower than 7 is acidic, higher is alkaline.

Did you know?

Wash water from equipment washing is considered industrial waste water. Any industrial waste water can not go into storm sewer, ditch, or ground. You should know your local regulations: there will usually be a limit of 100 ppm oil and grease, as well as limits on pH, solids, and BOD in which case a discharge system can be used. Otherwise you will need to recycle or evaporate the water. Discharge into a septic tank is usually not allowed, but may be possible if the water is treated first and discharge volume is accounted for and monitored.

What’s a ‘Red Tag’?

Failure to comply with WDR program’s regulations can result in your business operations being suspended, known as being ‘red tagged’. The California Health and Safety Code permits the local implementing agencies and the State Water Board to affix red tags to any hazardous substance underground storage tank (UST) system. This law also permits them to issue a written directive to empty the noncompliant UST system as soon as possible.

We can help you to comply and to avoid being red tagged.

Contact us to schedule a free pH test to assess if you’re waste water discharge is a problem, and recommend what steps you should take to resolve it.

We provide companies with cost- effective wastewater management equipment solutions to help resolve discharge issues and achieve pH discharge compliance. We carry a wide range of equipment including custom built systems. Contact us now >