Do You Really Know What’s Going Down the Drain? – CASE STUDY

Most smaller municipalities (and many major) rely on industrial users to estimate their effluent discharges to the local POTWs and report that to the municipality.  These municipalities typically don’t have the manpower or resources to maintain and calibrate meters or measuring devices to accurately measure what’s going into the sewers.  Hence, the effluent is typically reported as a percentage of the water supplied to a facility.

During an assignment at a Fortune 500 Chemical Company, it was discovered that the facility was over reporting their effluent.  Tools and methodology developed by previous facility EHS Management were over reporting the effluent volume by several times MORE THAN THE SITE WAS BEING SUPPLIED. Additionally, the facility was inaccurately determining the water portion in their own products. This method of determining and reporting the facility’s effluent had been used for at least 8 years.  Had it not been for a planned increase in surcharges to the POTW for BOD, COD, and TSS, this process may have continued.

The Case Study presented reflects the process by which the facility reduced their discharge fees by $173,000 annually by taking a closer look at what they were putting down the drain.