-
-
Search
-
Contact us
-
Log in
Equipment you need to treat trade wastewater
Trade wastewater contains solids, oil, grease and other substances. If you discharge it directly to the wastewater system (sewer), it can cause blockages and overflows, overload wastewater treatment plants, and pollute our rivers and beaches. That's why you must have our approval to discharge trade wastewater. You need to apply for approval before you install grease traps and other pre-treatment equipment. Choose the right equipment, by selecting only pre-treatment items we've listed and following our requirements. You must use a licensed plumber to install the equipment.
What do you need to do?
Commercial customers
If you discharge commercial trade wastewater you:
- must have our approval to discharge trade wastewater. Find out more about commercial trade wastewater and how to apply
- may be required to install standard items of pre-treatment. See our list of pre-specified, standard equipment for deemed processes under other businesses below
- must select the appropriate pre-treatment technology. Retail food and motor trades have particular requirements, which are outlined below
- must install only the pre-treatment items that we've listed
- must maintain your equipment.
Industrial customers
If you discharge industrial trade wastewater, you:
- must have our written approval to discharge trade wastewater. Find out more about industrial trade wastewater
- must meet our acceptance standards for specific substances found in trade wastewater
- must install pre-treatment designed and sized to meet site-specific requirements as set out in your agreement
- must maintain your equipment and follow our requirements
- must collect and analyse samples of your trade wastewater as specified in your agreement
- may need to engage a wastewater treatment specialist.
Choosing the right equipment
If you're discharging commercial trade wastewater, you must install standard items of pre-treatment. The type of pre-treatment required will depend on your business activities and processes. Food and motor trades industries have particular requirements and equipment, but all businesses must meet our conditions to remain connected to the wastewater system.
Pre-treatment equipment for retail food businesses
Most retail food businesses only need to install:
- in-sink and in-floor bucket traps
- a correctly sized grease trap.
Some processes may need additional pre-treatment, such as upstream grease removal devices or under sink pump units.
Read on to learn about grease traps and other treatment equipment for retail food businesses and shopping centres.
Our requirements
To find out about pre-treatment requirements for food businesses, read Plumbing for retail food businesses (450 KB).
See more information below about requirements for shopping centres.
Choose the right equipment
Only choose pre-treatment we've listed and size it to meet your maximum hourly flow rate now and into the future.
Select from our Listed pre-treatment for food businesses to find out if a product is listed for use within our area of operations and who supplies it.
Install the equipment
You must have a licensed plumber install your grease trap according to the manufacturer's instructions and the Plumbing Code of Australia, 2012.
If you manage a shopping centre, you may need multiple grease traps. Read more below.
Maintain your equipment
You must have a Wastesafe contractor regularly empty and maintain your grease trap. Learn about Wastesafe and select your Wastesafe transporter to empty your grease trap, clean it and maintain it.
Manage your wastewater
Follow our housekeeping tips to introduce cleaner production methods to reduce the amount of wastewater you produce.
Pre-treatment equipment for motor trades businesses
Most motor trades businesses need to install:
- in-sink and in-floor bucket traps
- an oil water separation system with a collection pit and pump.
Only use pre-treatment we've listed and size it to meet your maximum hourly flow rate now and into the future.
Read on to learn about oil and water separators and treatment equipment for motor trades businesses.
Our requirements
Whether you're a mechanic, run a service station, panel beaters, car detailers or a car wash, you need to follow our requirements to remain connected to the wastewater system.
To find out about pre-treatment requirements for your motor trades business, see the table below.
Choose the right equipment
Only choose pre-treatment we've listed and size it to meet your maximum hourly flow rate now and into the future.
Read more about requirements for service stations, panel beaters and spray painters, car detailers, mechanics, auto-recyclers and car washes.
Select from our Listed pre-treatment for automotive businesses to find out if a product is listed for use within our area of operations and who supplies it.
Install the equipment
Most motor trades businesses require an oil/water separator. Read more about oil separators and how to install them below.
Maintain the equipment
You must properly maintain your equipment according to the manufacturer's instructions to ensure you continue to meet our requirements.
Manage your wastewater
Follow our housekeeping tips to introduce cleaner production methods to reduce the amount of wastewater you produce.
Pre-treatment equipment for other businesses
There are varied pre-treatment requirements for other businesses. All businesses must meet our requirements to be connected to the wastewater system.
Only use pre-treatment we've listed and size it to meet your maximum hourly flow rate now and into the future.
Read on to learn about requirements for deemed customers and other businesses.
Our requirements
To find out about pre-treatment requirements for commercial businesses with deemed processes, see the table below.
If you're discharging industrial trade wastewater, you may need a specialist to help you design site-specific treatment to meet our acceptance standards before you select from our listed pre-treatment items.
To find out more about acceptance standards, read our Industrial customers - Acceptance standards and charging rates (644 KB) fact sheet
Read more about industrial trade wastewater.
Choose the right equipment
Select from our Listed pre-treatment for other businesses to find out if a product is listed for use within our area of operations and who supplies it.
Install and maintain the equipment
There are many different requirements depending on your business. Follow any installation and maintenance instructions from the manufacturer to ensure your equipment continues to meet our requirements.
Manage your wastewater
Follow our housekeeping tips to introduce cleaner production methods to reduce the amount of wastewater you produce.
Grease traps
Grease traps are the most common form of pre-treatment for retail food and some other businesses. You need to properly install and maintain your grease trap to continue to meet our requirements. If you reduce the amount of waste you're producing, your grease trap will work better. You must never pour waste oil directly into the sink or you'll quickly overload your grease trap.
What you need to do |
Why you need to do it |
|---|---|
Engage a licensed plumber. When the work is complete, ask your plumber for a certificate of compliance. |
The grease trap must be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, our requirements and the Plumbing Code of Australia, 2012. |
Size the grease trap to meet your maximum hourly flow now and into the future. |
An undersized grease trap will not treat your trade wastewater. We may ask you to install additional pre-treatment. |
Install the grease trap as close to the source (kitchen area) as possible. |
If you use long pipe runs, they can become clogged with grease. This can cause overflows in your property. |
Install the grease trap so it drains by gravity to the wastewater system (sewer). |
Using pumps adds complexity and additional costs. If your pump fails, the grease trap will overflow within your property. |
Ensure your grease trap is regularly cleaned. |
Grease traps must be pumped out regularly. Your waste contractor will pump out the contents of the grease trap, clean the internal surfaces and scrape the inside of the grease trap. |
Ensure adequate space above the grease trap (at least equal to the depth of the grease trap). |
This allows enough space to open the grease trap lid, maintain it and get it pumped out. |
Allow for safe and unrestricted access to inspect and service (pump-out) the grease trap. |
Your waste contractor must park the waste tanker close to the grease trap. Our representatives need safe access to check the performance of the grease trap. |
Consider the need for fixed pump out lines. |
Some situations require you to install a fixed pump out line, eg multi-storey buildings. |
Learn more
For more information about grease traps, read:
Under sink pump units
It's better for grease traps to drain by gravity to sewer. This causes fewer operating problems, but sometimes it's not possible. If the sewer grade does not permit a gravity connection, the preferred design is to drain through the grease trap to a pump well and pump to sewer. The least preferred design is to pump to the grease trap. To find out more, read our Grease traps - under sink pump units fact sheet.
Pre-treatment requirements for shopping centres
If you manage a shopping complex or small shopping centre, you may need to install multiple grease traps.
Communal grease traps must have the capacity to process the combined greasy waste output of each retail food outlet. You may need to allow extra capacity to allow for future changes.
There are different requirements depending on the size of your grease trap and you may need to install additional treatment equipment.
Grease trap requirements for shopping centres depend on the size of the complex and how much greasy waste they produce.
Small complexes
For small complexes (that require less than 30,000 L total grease trap capacity), you may use communal grease traps. The maximum capacity for a grease trap is 5,000 L.
You need separate grease traps for grouped businesses to ensure you don't exceed the limit. You can also install centralised pre-treatment equipment, such as dissolved air flotation or equivalent.
Large complexes
For large complexes (those with over 30,000 L total grease trap capacity), you must have centralised pre-treatment, such as dissolved air flotation or the equivalent. Where exceptional circumstances prevent you installing a centralised pre-treatment system, we'll work with you and may approve alternative pre-treatment.
Pre-treatment requirements for motor trades
Activities |
Minimum pre-treatment requirements |
|---|---|
Service station with under canopy forecourt |
Collection well with a sloped bottom and minimum working volume of 750 litres
Oil/water separator system Bunded area around oil/water separator Wastewater discharge point located outside the bunded area Installation set up with hydrocyclone |
Panel beating and spray painting |
Collection pit with an operating capacity of at least 500 L Oil/ water separator system sized according to influent flow rate (minimum size 1kL/hr) |
Car wash – hand wash and pressure spray |
Roof and bund wash area to exclude rainwater and install in-floor bucket traps Collection pit with an operating capacity of at least 500 L Oil/ water separator system sized according to influent flow rate (minimum size 1kL/hr) No discharge of solvents to sewer or Bund wash area to exclude run-off from other areas and install an approved diversion system* Collection pit with an operating capacity of at least 500 L Oil/ water separator system sized according to influent flow rate (minimum size 1kL/hr) No discharge of solvents to sewer * Fox Environmental Systems DD600 System |
Pre-treatment requirements for service stations
We have specific installation requirements for service stations with under canopy forecourts.
See our schematic diagrams for:
We have special requirements for service stations with under canopy forecourts.
Oil water separators
Oil water separators remove free oil from wastewater. read more about the different types of oil water separator technologies below.
Before choosing your oil water separator system, read about listed pre-treatment for the auto industry.
Installation
Before installing your oil water separator:
- read our Coalescing plate separators - installation guide
- see our schematic diagrams for installing coalescing plate separators and hydrocyclones.
They must be installed according to:
- the manufacturer's instructions
- our requirements
- the Plumbing Code of Australia, 2012.
Types of oil water separator technologies
Type of technology |
How it works |
|---|---|
Coalescing plate separator |
This is a gravity separator with a plate pack fitted to remove oils and solids. It uses the difference in specific gravity (settling speed) between unmixable components of a liquid waste stream, such as engine oil and washwater. The plates improve the gravity separation process by reducing the settling or rise distance. Wastewater is collected and pumped to the coalescing plate separator. |
Vertical gravity separator |
This oil water separator uses a vertical cylinder design containing a continuous truncated conical spiral pack to separate non-emulsified oils and sludges from wastewater. Wastewater is collected in a pit and pumped to the vertical gravity separator. |
Hydrocyclone separator system |
This uses centrifugal force to separate oils from water. |
Requirements for deemed processes
Some businesses are deemed to have permission to discharge trade wastewater to our wastewater systems. We call these 'deemed processes'. You must still meet the requirements listed below or you could be disconnected.
If you're not certain whether your business has 'deemed processes', apply for approval to discharge and we'll advise you.
Deemed processes do not attract trade waste fees and charges.
Deemed processes and their pre-treatment requirements
Deemed process |
Pre-treatment requirements |
|---|---|
Beautician, doctor's surgery, funeral parlour, school (ceramic and pottery room), venetian blind cleaning |
No pre-treatment required |
Aquariums |
Must meet Australian quarantine requirements |
Building construction - slab formation |
No discharge to our wastewater system (sewer). Pipework with open connectors to be capped at all times or have an internal device fitted |
Mobile carpet cleaners |
20 micron filter unit |
Cooling towers |
Discharge not to exceed 500 litres/day |
Dental surgery |
Amalgam trap and segregation of waste amalgam |
Dental technician |
Plaster trap |
Dog groomer, pet shop (retail) |
In-floor bucket trap, no organophosphates pesticides to our wastewater system (sewer) |
Dry cleaners |
Solvent recovery unit |
Florist |
No herbicide to our wastewater system (sewer) |
Hairdresser |
In-floor bucket trap and in-sink bucket trap |
Optical lens grinding |
Solids settlement pit |
Residential garbage bin wash area |
Roof and bund bin wash area to exclude rainwater and install an approved in-floor bucket trap Discharge directly to the wastewater system (sewer) via floor waste Use only soap-based products to clean garbage bins or Bund bin wash area to exclude run-off from other areas and install approved diversion system* Use only soap based products to clean garbage bins *Fox Environmental Systems DD600S |
Residential vehicle wash bay |
Minimum 1,000 litres/hour oil/water separator system or 1,000 litre general purpose pit Display a sign stating 'No degreasing or mechanical work in the wash bay' Locate vehicle wash bay on a roofed and bunded hard surface and install an approved in-floor bucket trap Direct all washwater to the oil/water separator or general purpose pit via floor waste or Minimum 1,000 L/hour oil/water separator system or 1,000 L general purpose pit Display a sign stating 'No degreasing or mechanical work in the wash bay' Bund unroofed bin wash area to exclude run-off from other areas and install approved diversion system* *Fox Environmental Systems DD600 |
Sanitary bin washing |
Screening and temperature control (less than 38° C) |
Swimming pool (residential, hotel, hospital, club) |
No open areas discharging rainwater to our wastewater system (sewer) |
Train platform and internal carriage cleaning |
In-floor bucket trap and in-sink bucket trap No open areas draining to the wastewater system (sewer) |
Wash water generated by the washing of painting and plasterering equipment such as brushes, trays and spatulas (Construction site only - medium / high density developments, mixed developments, commercial and industrial developments) |
Minimum 1,000 litre general-purpose pit or solid settlement pit Note: We must authorise all pre-treatment apparatus |
Not sure whether your business processes are deemed processes?
If you're discharging trade wastewater and you're not listed as a deemed process, you must have our written approval. If you can't find it or you're not sure if you have our written approval, email businesscustomers@sydneywater.com.au.
If you don't have written approval and you're discharging trade waste, you must apply at Sydney Water Tap in™.
