Grease in sewer sump – Identification?

[beer_me_please]

Hi folks,

I have a question for any knowledgable professionals regarding grease accumulation in a sump for a mixed-use building. There are 90 units in total – 70 residential and 20 commercial. Three of the commercial units are small class 1 restaurants.

Here's the question: Is there any way a technician could confidently determine that the majority of the grease removed from the sump is either household grease or restaurant grease? From your experience, is there a clear distinction that can be made from the visual appearance or consistency of the grease?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Matt30]

Anything coming from the restaurant kitchen should be going through a grease trap before it reaches the pumping station.

I’m no expert on grease but that’s code where I come from

 

[beer_me_please]

Anything coming from the restaurant kitchen should be going through a grease trap before it reaches the pumping station.

I’m no expert on grease but that’s code where I come from

Thanks for the reply, Matt. Yes, that should be the case, but in this situation I'm unsure if all three restaurants have local grease traps.

I had already discovered that despite all of them being class 1 restaurants, none of them actually has a permit to run a class 1 cooking operation (only class 2), so there's a good chance that code is not being properly followed regarding grease management. I've opened case files with the city's property use department, but it often takes a while for them to investigate and even longer to take action.

For the time being, I'm building a case internally that will be presented to the rest of council. It's a bit complicated...

 

[Jamesplumbing06]

Once a common drain comes together. No way of telling what came from where without a food based dna lab. Capture some grease and the test can tell you down to what brand of grease it is. BUT WAIT THERES MORE . Your wasting time and money. I have been to and average of 4 houses a day Monday - Friday for the last 20 years. Unclogged a many grease clogs. Everyone of those customers claimed to never putting grease down drain. But shocker! It’s there in its 8’ grease roll. Each place tho ? I found exactly the reason for the build up. Usually a belly. And that “grease roll” isn’t grease alone. There is a long of what is it. Cooking grease is the Lowest percentage. Here is a few tho high percentages. Bar soap, powder soap, toothpaste , denture bond, body oils, food from disposals,and a whole lot of other things that become hard again after becoming cold. If it starts solid then it ends solid. But the only common thing between them all was. A BELLY. Find the belly fix the problem. Usually where you have to always snake. Takes 2 plumbers with a wallow talkie and sewer camera. One pushes 3-4’ a time. The other locates it and marks depth. Measure distance at 1/8” per ft for fall towards sewer. Find where the depth is same or deeper than everywhere else. There is your “pit row” everything must stop there and settle. So dig it up fix the belly. Save yourself court costs and lab fees. And find the plumber that agrees with me. Pvc ran correctly and to manufactures specs and codes. This will never have an issue. Never have a clog of any kind. Commercial or not. I got hundreds of houses on the same city sewers and some on common neighborhood septic treatments. Since we have taken over the drain cleaning in this town. We have never been back for the same clog except 1 apartment complex that we are currently digging on this week. Fix it and you can sleep well. Continue the lawsuit and you risk heart attack and stress along with a few dollars ( but they print that paper by the minute). All to find out if you look under each sink you should find a 2-3 cubit foot steel box sitting on floor with a pipe coming in and pipe going out. Grease trap. Meanwhile that belly is building solids as we discuss. So I would fix the problem not point fingers at 3 restaurants hooked into 90 apartments. Trust me it’s the residential units. Wink wink.

 

[Geofd]

your allright but one sure way to know if the restaurant s are doing thierpart is to ask the for their grease trap cleaning log I work for a university and that's a big deal we have them cleaned on a bi monthly basis if you are responsible for the ejector that should be cleaned on a scheduled basis if the top is full of solids and you have floats the floats will just sit on the solids and never turn on......then your drains back up so every one really has a reposisbility some of our grease traps are being treated with an enzyeme
I havenet seen the results yet because we just started and I haven't opened the cover im a little skeptical but we will see

 

[mike fiore]

like Matt30 said each restaurant should have its own grease trap. Check with local plumbing inspector or health department to find out. you cant open a restaurant around here without a grease trap if you have any pot washing sinks...3 bay sinks.

 

[Diehard]

As the owner or their Rep, I would think you would have the right to inspect the restaurants yourself (with a plumber).
As the owner of a "70 residential and 20 commercial" unit establishment, you certainly have the responsibility to abide by the local wastewater discharge regulations. Have you been contacted by the authorities regarding your build sewer discharge contents?
Typical State or local requirements would have , but not be limited to verbiage such as, "Sewers For Intended Uses Only. No person shall discharge into any public sewer of the [City/Town], or into any fixture that thereafter discharges into any public sewer, any waste or substance other than for which the particular sewer is intended, designed or provided."