Case Study: Excavating Company Gains Environmental Compliance For Vehicle Wash Water

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Brownsville, Penn.-based, Brubacher Excavating, Inc. performs a full range of excavating, pipe and utility installation, roadway construction, general earth moving activities and related site development services in Southeastern Penn. Although the company washes its heavy equipment regularly, its dump trucks and tractors account for the most frequent use of its wash bay. Repairing heavy equipment is the next most common use, followed by washing company pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles. After learning about the regulatory changes regarding wash water, company management decided to take steps to assure compliance.

The Challenge
Employees use manual wand-operated, high pressure washers running at 3000 psi and 4 gal/ min that use recycled water for washing and fresh water for rinsing. Wash water from the hundred foot-long, enclosed wash bay flows through a five foot-wide steel grate into a 32 inchdeep pit that gravity feeds into a grease-trap sump. To be environmentally compliant in 1988, the facility pumped wastewater from the sump into a sand filtration vault. As the water passed through the layers of stone and sand, it left behind contaminants. Periodically the company replaced the sand and stone to maintain proper performance. The original load of sand and stone in the vault lasted about four years before being replaced.

According to Richard Deeds, fleet manager at Brubacher Excavating, Inc., operational issues with the previous system were a concern. The company fleet had been growing about five percent a year, increasing the wash bay use and causing heavier contaminant loading on the sand. Whenever the sand had reached its filtration capacity, it would take two or three employees about three days to dig up three truckloads of sand and stone, and then the company had to pay to have it hauled away and disposed.

"We had also started using citric acid solvents for cleaning, which emulsified oils so they passed through the grease trap, further loading the sand," he said. "The last time we emptied the vault, the sand had only lasted about two years and nine months, and we realized that the operational costs were going to keep rising."

"We wanted to be in compliance in advance of any attention by the regulatory authorities, so we undertook a major testing program to see where we stood with the contaminant parameters used by our county," Deeds said.

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Source: Stormwater360