| Often when a small business opens to clean trucks, | | | | soap is good for the environment, breaking down |
| boats, rail cars, buses or automobiles they scramble | | | | stuff, which should not be there, but what an |
| to find an inexpensive unit to reclaim and clean the | | | | incredibly dandy proposal on their part? Basically they |
| water, in fact what they are really looking for is a | | | | sell the stuff and people use it, but those who use it |
| unit which can allow them to recycle most if not all | | | | do not seem to worry about the pollution; so much |
| of the wash waste water. A typical washing | | | | for the environmentalists? |
| operation might use 2200 to 5500 gallons of water | | | | So where can you get a really good above ground |
| per day, which needs treating. The contaminated | | | | unit for an operation which generates under 10,000 |
| water will contain things such as biodegradable soaps | | | | Gallons Per Day of not very dirty water, but still |
| and cleaning products along with whatever comes off | | | | enough to need treatment? Well there are number |
| of whatever you are washing. | | | | of places so let me help you here: Landa Corporation |
| This means some heavy metals, asbestos from | | | | and ask about the WaterMaze, Also Karcher makes |
| brakes, algae, inert dirt and some chemicals. This | | | | an above ground unit. Or call Howard Krew: and |
| would seem to be a Piece of cake, not to bad. | | | | mention my name, he can get you whatever you |
| However finding the right system may not seem as | | | | want by the end of the week. Also ask about the |
| easy as you think it is. There are so many different | | | | vacu-boom systems and comparisons. There is |
| types of systems such as sequencing batch reactors, | | | | nothing he cannot build or get. |
| which will probably be too large for one's needs and | | | | Some believe that it is okay to allow wash waste |
| biological treatment which would eat the solid waste, | | | | water to run into the wetlands and you could do that |
| yet there would be little sludge to eat, although this | | | | I suppose, but ground water issues could be a |
| is an option often used in car washes, however there | | | | problem too, plus most likely this is illegal unless you |
| are issues with this method effectively treating or | | | | can get a permit for such a system from the local |
| eating the detergent used. | | | | county. You might be able to build a French ditch with |
| Then there are many packaged systems that are | | | | rocks underneath like a leach line, if permitted with |
| designed for sewage. But with such small amounts of | | | | membranes underneath on top of concrete, buried in |
| water being used none of these options really make | | | | slots for removal and cleaning. |
| too much sense you see? If you are considering such | | | | If you are smart and interested in what is available |
| options then you are potentially looking in the wrong | | | | out there, there are some cool systems in |
| place if you are looking for something pre-made to | | | | Environmental Pollution News; you should be a |
| buy. All this stuff exists already. | | | | subscriber. |
| You might wish to talk to your soap or washing | | | | Recently I talked with Brown and Root who were |
| chemical supplier, but often when you do this the | | | | building a similar system to wash army tanks and |
| people at cleaning supply company seem to think it | | | | return the water back to their system to use again |
| would be just dandy to dispose of any biodegradable | | | | due to cost of water in Kuwait. Closed loop would |
| product with no treatment at all, at least that is what | | | | not be so bad really and a system above ground |
| one recently told an researching associate. I guess | | | | makes a lot of sense too. If you look at the |
| you see the problem, funny to think they sell these | | | | competing Pressure Washing Company reclaim units |
| sorts of cleaning products at Wal-Mart in a mass | | | | you will see that they are mini-versions and similar to |
| retail capacity and refuse to address these issues, | | | | a carwash really. |
| that is the real rub, think of the volume used each | | | | Simple enough, not too difficult, there are off the |
| day running into storm drains, in god knows what | | | | shelf equipment manufacturers. You can use a triple |
| level of ppm. | | | | trap and then equipment to clean what comes out at |
| If 40,000 do-it-yourselfers, DIY's, dump soapy | | | | the end to POTW standards, whatever they are, |
| chemicals into the ground water each day cleaning | | | | where you are. These are all things to think on when |
| 40,000 items using 200 gallons each, imagine the sum | | | | decided on the best choices for wash water above |
| of the pollution going into our water ways? A little | | | | ground treatment systems. |