MDC's or gas traps
Oil-Water separators, sometimes called MDC or gas traps, are found in many parking lots and garages, among other places. They are typically chambered tanks that allow for water to drain through while collecting any oils, greases, and other contaminants that may be in the stormwater system. These structures should be kept clean in order to maintain proper function and avoid contamination.
Rules and regulations for Oil-Water Separator maintenance
Oil-Water Separators are required on many sites to protect watersheds from contaminants. As such, they need to be maintained properly to ensure continued protection. Many cities and towns have their own guidelines and requirements for cleaning, inspection, and maintenance. We will work with you to ensure that your preventive maintenance plan for your Oil-Water Separator meets the standards and guidelines for your area.
Inspections
You may not know if your Oil-Water Separator needs to be cleaned or not. That’s okay – with all the varying requirements between every different city, town, and conservation commission, we know it’s hard to keep up. In some cases, your best bet is to have John’s inspect your Oil-Water Separator before splurging on a costly cleaning. Our qualified staff has years of experience in determining the cleanliness and operation of these units, and can even provide a full inspection report, if necessary. If you’re unsure if your Oil-Water Separator needs to be cleaned or not, John’s a call.
Cleaning
If the sediment level is low enough, Oil-Water Separators can often be cleaned with a standard pump truck. However, due to their nature as traps for contaminants, it is important to make sure that any contaminated materials are disposed of responsibly. We often recommend having the contents of your unit tested before cleaning, to determine whether or not it must be treated as a hazardous material. In many cases, the oil content is low enough that it can be disposed of safely without being treated as hazardous waste, which can reduce costs.
However, if your system does contain an amount of oil that deems it necessary to be disposed of as hazardous, you can rest easy as John’s can help with that as well.
Oil-Water separators are often exposed to sediment that collects in the sumps. Sometimes, if there is too much sediment, a pump truck won’t be able to clean the unit properly. In these cases, we recommend using a vactor truck. A vactor truck is a type of pump truck that employs a large volume vacuum hose to suck out the contents from your Oil-Water Separator. Its great power allows a vactor truck to remove both liquid and solid material from the sump.
We have all the resources to make sure your Vactor needs are handled properly, quickly, and efficiently. Give us a call today to learn more.
