EPA Water Recovery and How it Affects You
Did you know there are two sewer systems in every city? The Storm Sewer collects the runoff from the streets and gutters and goes directly into the lakes and rivers without being treated or filtered. The Sanitary Sewer collects everything that runs out of houses and office buildings and channels it to the wastewater treatment plant.
The Clean Water Act requires all wastewater treatment facilities to treat sanitary sewer water to certain standards. It also requires municipalities to maintain standards for storm sewer water discharge into state waters.
In order to enforce these standards, the EPA, state and local authorities can levy fines against anyone who discharges ‘process wastewater’ into the storm sewer. These fines can range from $10,000 to $25,000 per day and can be charged to both the property owner and the contractor.
According to the state of Colorado, all water generated by power washing (pressure washing) operations is classified as ‘process wastewater’.
EPA water recovery means this:
DON’T LET THE WASH WATER GO DOWN THE STORM SEWER. When wash water has only dirt and natural debris it can be discharged to landscaping. If it has anything else – detergents, grease, non-natural materials, etc., – EPA water recovery procedures must be used to collect the wash water, filter it, and discharge it into the sanitary sewer system at the wash site.
Some wastewater districts require a permit to discharge wastewater into the sanitary sewer. This can mean that the power washing company holds an EPA Water Recovery permit for any work done within a district or it can mean that the district will grant a permit per job site.
Not all jobs require EPA water recovery. Make sure the company you hire has a thorough understanding of the requirements in your area. And verify that they can and will do the EPA water recovery properly before you hire them. It’s your money and reputation at stake.
Boulder County PACE Certicate (for EPA Water Recovery) issued to Wash On Wheels
We have permits from every district that issues them including: Denver Water, Broomfield Wastewater, Littleton/Englewood Wastewater, Metro Wastewater, and South Adams County Wastewater and Colorado.
And we’re the first power wash company certified by Boulder County’s PACE program.
Our EPA water recovery process has been checked by inspectors in Aurora, Boulder, Louisville, Pueblo and Moab, Utah.
We’ve seen a few companies in the Denver metro area claiming to do water recovery. But they either don’t know what they’re doing or are trying to get by without buying the equipment to do the job right.
This video shows what it takes to get the job done.