Vijay Ratnaparkhe
Environmental Monitoring and Protection
Business Operations Management, Toronto Water
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 Overview of Toronto Water & EM&P
 PWIC Decision
 Grease – What are the issues?
 Sewers By-law Requirements
 Grease Traps/ Interceptors
 Grease – Problems in the sewer infrastructure?
 How EM&P deals with grease issues?
 Regulations and Standards
 Ontario Building Code
 CCME Model Sewer Use By-law
 Canadian Standard B481
 Proposed Changes
 Next Step
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ABTP
818,000 m 3 /day
NTTP
35000 m 3 /day
HCTP
220,000m 3 /day
HTP
473,000 m 3 /day
Lake Ontario
14th largest fresh water lake in the world Toronto
Lake Ontario
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Service for Toronto Residents and Businesses
Annual Water & Wastewater Services for 2.6 million residents and businesses in Toronto:
 Treat & supply 493 billion litres of water
 Collect & treat 438 billion litres of wastewater
 Replace 7,000 lead services
 Repair 10,000 blocked drains
 Clean over 122,500 catch basins
 Repair approximately 1,500 broken watermains
 Delivered by ~1,500 full-time employees
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Environmental Monitoring and Protection (EM&P)

48 FTEs

Management, Research Analysts,
Provincial Offences Officers

Sewers & Water Supply Bylaws

By-law Enforcement related to spills
24/7
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Protect wastewater treatment plant operations
Protect sewer infrastructure from obstruction and deterioration due to harmful discharges
Protect aquatic environment
Ensure the health & safety of City staff & public
Municipal Code
Chapter 681
Sewers enacted in 2000
To meet legislative & regulatory requirements
To control biosolids quality
Sewers By-law sets limits on the heavy metals, Oil & Grease, and toxic organic compounds in wastewater discharge to sanitary and storm sewers.
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In December 2013, City Council directed City staff to undertake consultations in 2014 regarding the proposed changes to the
Pollution Prevention (P2) Program and subsequent Sewers By-law,
Municipal Code Chapter 681.
One change relates to adherence by restaurants and food processors to the Canadian Standard Association's (CSA) B481
Standard for grease interceptors.
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FOG: Fats, Oil and Grease generated from normal operations of food service establishments (FSEs).
Grease is commonly washed into the plumbing system during clean-up via kitchen sink. As it cools, it congeals & decreases pipe capacity both inside the FSE and in City sewers.
FOG blocks FSE drain, neighbors’ & can overflow into environment (spill )
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681-10B(1) states:
Every owner or operator of a restaurant or other industrial, commercial or institutional premises where food is cooked, processed or prepared, which premises is connected directly or indirectly to a sewer, shall take all necessary measures to ensure that oil & grease are prevented from entering the sewer
681-10B(2) states:
The owner or operator of a premises as set out in Subsection B(1) shall install, operate, and properly maintain a grease interceptor in any piping system at its premises that connects directly or indirectly to a sewer. The grease interceptors shall be installed in compliance with the most current requirements of the Ontario Building Code
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Parameter LIMIT
(mg/L)
HOW TO HELP MINIMIZE
Oil & Grease (animal & vegetable)
Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD)
150
300
Maintain Grease Interceptor
Prevent Solids from entering drain
Suspended Solids (TSS) pH
350
6.0 – 11.5
Prevent Solids from entering drain
Maintain Grease Interceptor
(Grease is acidic upon decomposition)
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 A grease trap/interceptor is a plumbing device designed to intercept/reduce the amount of FOG from entering the sanitary sewer.
 Grease trap/interceptor functions to separate FOG’S (~90% of weight of water) by gravity & coalescence. Contains a separation chamber which allows FOG to rise to the surface.
 The most common type of Grease trap/interceptor is a hydromechanical batch-flow grease interceptor with a flow rating of 26 L/min (7 gpm) to
380 L/min (100 gpm). These are small and often are found under the sinks.
 A Grease Removal Device automatically removes the grease to an outside vessel.
 Gravity grease interceptors are large in-ground interceptors that are 1,000 gallons or more and have a longer retention time compared to the hydromechanical grease interceptor .
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Hydromechanical Grease
Trap: under sinks
Gravity Grease Interceptor: outside and in-ground
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A grease interceptor is often referred to as a grease trap.
 A grease trap should be connected to any fixture or drain that discharges wastewater containing oil and grease, including sinks for washing dishes, floor drains, drains serving self-cleaning exhaust hoods and cooking equipment.
 Wastewater enters the grease trap.
 The water cools & the grease and oil harden and float to the top of the trap.
 The rest of the wastewater flows through the trap and out the exit pipe to the sanitary sewer.
 Solids settle to the bottom.
 The FOG and solids remain in the trap.
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CCTV camera can determine the source of grease origin
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Entrance of manhole is full of grease
Manhole cover removed
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Grease
Build-up
Grease
Floating
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Dried grease eventually causes blockages and could cause basement flooding
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Catch Basin behind a restaurant
Hardened chunks of grease solidified in the catch basin
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 When warm fats, oils and grease make their way into the plumbing system, over time they build up and cause a number of problems, including blocked sewers.
 Blocked sewers can lead to a sewage backup into your business, neighbouring properties or even local rivers.
 Blocked sewers can also lead to increased vermin and contact with diseasecausing organisms, all of which pose serious health risks to anyone working in or visiting the restaurant.
 Issues caused by blocked sewers could ultimately lead to a temporary or permanent closure of the restaurant by Toronto Public Health.
 Costs incurred by the City as a result of a grease-blocked sewer or damage to the sewers will be charged back to those responsible .
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How EM&P interacts with Food Service Establishments
Typical Problems:
 Spills: staff not trained on proper spill clean up; spill reporting & impacts of material entering catch basins, sanitary sewers
 No grease interceptor; improperly sized grease interceptor &/or poor maintenance
 Low pH, corroded grease traps
 Using additives in grease traps, drains – pump-out is still required
 Site washing outdoors leading to storm sewer via catch basins and leading to nearest creek/river
 Jetting/Flushing of clogged sewer lines; the flushed waste must be intercepted in the manhole and pumped out by a waste hauler with certificate from Ministry of
Environment. It is not allowed to be flushed to City sewer as blockages will occur down stream in colder City sewer
Lateral sewer clogged with grease
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•
EM&P and Toronto Public Health Pilot Project 2008:
–
TPH Inspectors flagged issues with grease traps at food establishments
–
Sent a referral to EM&P
–
EM&P By-law Officers followed up with inspections and enforcement.
•
From 2009 to 2013 EM&P received:
–
1735 referrals from TPH for restaurants that had no grease traps
–
3118 referrals for restaurants that had improperly maintained grease traps
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Resulted in EM&P inspecting these restaurants and sending out over 2000 Notices of Violation.
For those that do have grease interceptors, we have grease sewer problems in certain areas with numerous FSE taking up significant staff resources and we are finding that small FSE to major well known International FSE (franchise’s) cutting back on maintenance
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(Manhole)
Sewers By-law section 10A
 A suitable manhole near property line is required by the City to allow for observation, sampling and flow measurement
 Where no manhole exist or where it is not possible to install a manhole, the company and the City may agree on an alternative device (i.e. sampling port).
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Interceptor means a receptacle that is designed and installed to prevent oil, grease, sand or other materials from passing into a drainage system .
7.4.4.3. Interceptors
(1) Except for suites of residential occupancy , where a fixture discharges sewage that includes fats, oils or grease and is located in an area that food is cooked, processed or prepared, it shall discharge through a grease interceptor .
(5) Every interceptor shall have sufficient capacity to perform the service for which it is provided.
(8) The flow rate through a grease interceptor shall not exceed its rated capacity
7.2.3.2. Interceptors
(3) Where a grease interceptor is required by Sentence 7.4.4.3.(1), the interceptor shall conform to,
(a)CAN/CSA-B481.1, “Testing and Rating of Grease Interceptors Using Lard”, or
(b)CAN/CSA-B481.2, “Testing and Rating of Grease Interceptors Using Oil”.
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The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) created a model bylaw for any municipality to use in whole or in part. This model is a tool and not a regulation. The model includes:
 shall install and maintain in good repair a suitable maintenance access point (manhole)
 The discharger shall complete any monitoring or sampling of any discharge to a wastewater works, as required by the Municipality
 The installation, testing, maintenance and performance of the interceptor shall meet the requirements of CAN/CSA B-481:
 Clean before Fats, Oil & Grease (FOG) and solid is greater than 25% of the available volume
 Cleaning frequency should not be less than every four weeks
 Emulsifiers shall not be discharged into interceptors
 No person shall use enzymes, bacteria, solvents, hot water or other agents to facilitate the passage of Oil and Grease through a Grease Interceptor
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This is the second edition of the CSA B481 Series of Standards, Grease interceptors. It supersedes the previous edition published in 2007. It consists of the following Standards:
(a) CSA B481.0, Material, design, and construction requirements for grease interceptors;
(b) CSA B481.1, Testing and rating of grease interceptors using lard;
(c) CSA B481.2, Testing and rating of grease interceptors using oil;
(d) CSA B481.3, Sizing, selection, location, and installation of grease interceptors;
(e) CSA B481.4, Maintenance of grease interceptors; and
(f) CSA B481.5, Testing and rating of grease interceptors equipped with a grease removal device.
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 Grease Interceptors are to be either CSA B481.1 or CSA B481.2 certified as per the Ontario Building Code (OBC)
 OBC also requires a properly sized interceptor. CSA B481.3 Standard specifies sizing and installation requirement and includes calculations for peak flow rates. It also states that when a grease interceptor is required to service a dishwasher, it shall be a dedicated grease interceptor.
 CSA B481.4 Standard is explicit with maintenance requirements
 Gravity Grease Interceptors and Grease Recovery Devices (GRD) are acceptable devices in place of Hydromechanical Grease Interceptors. GRD is covered in CSA B481.5
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 Grease interceptors shall be serviced before the volume of FOG and solids exceeds 25% of the liquid volume of the grease interceptor.
 Grease interceptors shall be serviced at least once every four weeks.
 The servicing frequency shall be determined by monitoring the FOG accumulation in the grease interceptor to ensure that it does not exceed the maximum containment capacity (see Clause 5.1.1)
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B481.4.6.1.3 Chemical or other agents
An operator of a food services facility shall not use or permit the use of chemical agents, enzymes, bacteria, solvents, hot water, or other agents to facilitate the passage of FOG through a grease interceptor.
The monthly cost of additives is about the cost of a monthly pumpout. Generally, businesses paying for the monthly cost of additives are under the impression that regular pump-out is not required.
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•
Poor compliance by restaurants in installing and maintaining grease interceptors that result in (of the 2,000 non-compliant restaurants - 35% no grease traps, 65% improper maintenance)
– Sewer Blockages
–
Flooding in buildings and on the street
–
Increased infrastructure maintenance and replacement cost borne by the tax payers
•
Incorporate Canadian Standard B481 for grease trap sizing, installation, and maintenance in the Sewers by-law.
•
Provide guidance to restaurants in the form of a “Code of Practice” encoded in the Sewers Bylaw that will cover:
–
Grease Trap installation and maintenance
–
Do’s and Don’ts
–
Managing hood cleaning waste
–
Proper disposal of grease
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•
Create a Code of Practice (COP) for restaurants on do’s & don’ts to protect the City sewer system and the environment as a whole.
•
Incorporate CSA B481 Series-12 Grease Interceptors for certification, sizing, location, installation and maintenance of grease interceptors in the Sewers By-law and in the Code of
Practice.
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 May, 2014 – Stakeholder consultation
 Food Associations
 Food & Grocery Franchises
 Mall Property Managers
 Environmental Groups/NGOs
 June 2014 – Paper Survey
 June 31, 2014– Deadline for stakeholder comments
 Late 2014 – Follow-up meetings
 2015 – Report to PWIC on findings
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1. Do you think that a Code of Practice will assist restaurants in managing their grease waste effectively?
2. Do you see any benefits in having a Code of Practice and referring to the CSA standards in the Sewers Bylaw?
3. We would like to hear from you and appreciate your feedback and participation.
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Please submit your comments & feedback by
June 30, 2014
Contact: Mae Lee
City of Toronto
Public Consultation Unit
Email: p2program@toronto.ca
Tel: 416-392-3787
Fax: 416-392-2974
TTY: 416-338-0889
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