Innovative Grease Tracking System to Reduce Sanitary Sewer Overflows

In 2004, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) developed a voluntary initiative to address the increase in sanitary sewer overflows due to aging systems and to encourage corrective action before human health, safety, or the environment are impacted. A sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) can occur when untreated wastewater is forced out of manholes because the wastewater line is blocked by fats, oils, and grease (FOGs). To better manage and minimize SSOs, a North Texas water utility recently launched an innovative grease tracking system.

This new tracking system, implemented by Dallas Water Utilities (DWU), will monitor the frequency and proper disposal of grease from food service establishments (FSEs). With over 6,000 FSEs in Dallas, DWU was experiencing a significant increase in the number of grease related SSOs in its wastewater collection system. As part of Dallas’ effort to decrease SSOs and to comply with the SSO Initiative agreement with TCEQ, the city changed its ordinance in Fall 2007 to specify a 90-day pump out requirement and 25 percent solids rule. Meaning, grease traps must be pumped out every 90 days, or more frequently when the solids content reaches 25 percent or greater.

These changes were recommended by the TCEQ, and as a result DWU was faced with a formidable task to track the service schedules for FSEs’ grease traps in order to ensure compliance with the new ordinance. The best solution was to change the manifest system that DWU manages to provide regulators information on the waste generator, transporter, and disposal facility. The technology used to scan the disposal manifests was integrated into a tracking software program. The companies that developed the scannable manifests and the tracking software worked together to develop an effective tracking system.

The new tracking system is capable of running queries to obtain any information contained on the manifests such as pump out frequencies. This has allowed DWU to significantly improve the tracking and inspection of grease traps and to maximize available manpower by focusing on facilities not in compliance with Dallas’ ordinance. DWU is planning to develop the system even further by providing field notebook computers to the inspectors so that they can access the database—in “real time”—in the field to improve efficiency even more.

For more information on SSOs and FOGs, visit http://www.ceasethegreasentx.com. For more information on DWU’s tracking system, contact Richard Statser, DWU Liquid Waste Supervisor, at richard.statser@dallascityhall.com or (214) 243-2359.

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