Water Reclaim in Florida

Here is a bad photo of Indianapolis city employees washing the walks at the City County building yesterday and running everything into the storm sewers. Last summer I saw a state highway truck with a large skid washing an entire bridge and running it all into the main creek that feeds Eagle Creek reservoir that supplies about 1/3 of the drinking water for the city of Indianapolis.

I guess the laws only apply if they can squeeze a fine out of you.
 

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Russ Spence said:
Tony Tony Tony, should it not ne diverted away from directly entering a storm drain if its off property run off?

I am not saying it ALL has to be reclaimed but I do feel it needs to be diverted
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That is right it does not have to be recollected it just can not come in direct contact with surface waters. The wash water can be diverted to a grassy area or sanitary sewer. Treatment is only necessary in certain circumstances, usually not flat work unless you are dealing with lots of oils or harsh chems. Each state may have different or more stringent requirements but at a minimum I have not seen a regulation anywhere that is weaker than this minimum requirement.
 
Once again:

Here is a direct quote from our LEGAL BMP's. Other cities would do well to copy these BMP's to encourage more frequent cleanings so soap is not so prevalent.

Washdown Sidewalks, Plazas, Driveways, and Drive-Through Window Areas

With Soap - Wastewater must go to sanitary sewer. Sweep, collect and dispose of of debris and/or absorbent. Wash area then vacuum or pump wastewater to the sanitary sewer. The BMPs in this section do not apply if there has been oil or other hazardous material spilled on site. In case of a spill, contact the local fire department for guidance.

Without Soap - Direct wastewater runoff to soil or landscaped areas. Wastewater may go to storm drain. Sealing the storm drain with a fabric filter is recommended to capture soil in the wastewater

http://www.lvstormwater.com/bmps_surfacecleaning.htm

I don't know why I even try anymore. I've posted this at least 5 times. No one ever reads it.
 
Listen Guys, when we frequently clean without soap, even if we use heat, we are doing nothing more than what the rain would do anyway eventually given time. We are just keeping the stuff diluted by cleaning on a regular basis.

I'm afraid we've already lost the fight. If guys like Russ or Paul still think our runoff from cleaning plazas and sidewalks is "POLLUTION" then WE ARE POLLUTERS!!!! THE CWA ONLY REGULATES POLLUTANTS!!!! IF WE HAVE TO DIRECT OUR NON SOAP WASHWATER AWAY FROM THE STORM DRAIN THEN THAT MAKES US POLLUTERS!

Either we ARE or we AREN'T. We, as an industry need to make up our minds. Reaching across the aisle and trying to say we "pollute" a little is suicide for our industry.

I'm just about ready to give up and let you guys worry about it alone. None of this reclaim stuff affects what I do one iota. I'm only arguing the point to help you guys keep from losing your incomes. I give up.
 
Tony Shelton said:
Once again:

Here is a direct quote from our LEGAL BMP's. Other cities would do well to copy these BMP's to encourage more frequent cleanings so soap is not so prevalent.

Washdown Sidewalks, Plazas, Driveways, and Drive-Through Window Areas

With Soap - Wastewater must go to sanitary sewer. Sweep, collect and dispose of of debris and/or absorbent. Wash area then vacuum or pump wastewater to the sanitary sewer. The BMPs in this section do not apply if there has been oil or other hazardous material spilled on site. In case of a spill, contact the local fire department for guidance.

Without Soap - Direct wastewater runoff to soil or landscaped areas. Wastewater may go to storm drain. Sealing the storm drain with a fabric filter is recommended to capture soil in the wastewater

http://www.lvstormwater.com/bmps_surfacecleaning.htm

I don't know why I even try anymore. I've posted this at least 5 times. No one ever reads it.
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No way no how are we polluters we are the exact opposite of that.

I agree with what you have here 100% it is accurate to what our standards are here as well. I guess I was being a bit broad in my description. The key is the fabric for particulate matter an oil sock will also make you compliant for any minor oil issues as well.

Again fleets are a bit different from this due to the detergents and other factors. Each situation is a bit different but in most other cases diversion will make you compliant (with fleets or when using detergent).
 
IndyExterior said:
Here is a bad photo of Indianapolis city employees washing the walks at the City County building yesterday and running everything into the storm sewers. Last summer I saw a state highway truck with a large skid washing an entire bridge and running it all into the main creek that feeds Eagle Creek reservoir that supplies about 1/3 of the drinking water for the city of Indianapolis.

I guess the laws only apply if they can squeeze a fine out of you.
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keep that picture to show the judge if you ever get fined. or the press if the judge doesnt care.
 
We have very strict rules in my town, but it's hard to find out what they really are...then, you red flag yourself by looking and that just triggers the enforcers! We had an archive of pictures of the city breaking the rules, but the enforcement only cared about us! In our area, it is strictly rain only in storm drains. We can use grassy fields and even holding ponds as long as they are on private property. The "preferred" method is through sand oil/water separator (or other treatment) then into sanitary sewer. We were told they would fine us even if it was a residential house wash...I know they don't target other companies doing driveways, but we are in their system so we get watched...
It doesn't effect our business much as fleets should reclaim and hood cleaners should strictly manage their waste water. It's not worth getting a fine just to fight it. I might go that route if we add services that shouldn't be strictly enforced/regulated.
 
Kory said:
Tony I didn't know you had storm drains there. Don't you need storms to have storm drains? I would think the water evaporates on contact in Vegas. So pressure wash wait 10 min and blow off the dust!
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LOL that is funny!
 
Shouldn't we as an industry try to emulate the least restrictive bmp's and use our own sense of community responsibility to regulate our runoff? Ron made the point that he KNOWS when pollutants are in the runoff and he diverts them as needed. We do the same. We did downtown city streets last year with no soap and were told to let it all go down the SD because it was a city job. We didn't. We filtered debris, not because it was the law, but because it was the responsible thing to do.
 
Tony Shelton said:
Shouldn't we as an industry try to emulate the least restrictive bmp's and use our own sense of community responsibility to regulate our runoff? Ron made the point that he KNOWS when pollutants are in the runoff and he diverts them as needed. We do the same. We did downtown city streets last year with no soap and were told to let it all go down the SD because it was a city job. We didn't. We filtered debris, not because it was the law, but because it was the responsible thing to do.
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Absolutely.
 
Tony is in San Diego this week..
being Enviro-Responsible makes us Enviro-Clean-up specialists.
continuing education, keeps it easy, and profitable.

Gee..
I hope he doesn't chew-up the guy from the city that's coming on Friday.
..jus' kidding Tony ! :)
 
Tony Shelton said:
Shouldn't we as an industry try to emulate the least restrictive bmp's and use our own sense of community responsibility to regulate our runoff? Ron made the point that he KNOWS when pollutants are in the runoff and he diverts them as needed. We do the same. We did downtown city streets last year with no soap and were told to let it all go down the SD because it was a city job. We didn't. We filtered debris, not because it was the law, but because it was the responsible thing to do.
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I agree with that and it is the way we operate our business as well. Unfortunately there are some who choose to cut corners and spoil it for all. I am all for simple regulations and right now and from what I have seen most state BMP's are simple and reasonable. Enforcement seems to be the biggest issue we are dealing with and we just need to be sure that others understand what needs to be done. In many cases it fairly easy to head off a problem before it happens by doing some simple things like diversion and/or filtration and oil socks. Like you said not just because of the law but because it is the right thing to do. This continued proactive response will show the local enforcement agencies that we are serious about environmental cleanup and we are not the source of pollution.
 
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