Sand-Oil Separator Program

All petroleum, oil, sand or grit discharges from Petroleum, Oil and Sand (POS) generating facilities threaten the sanitary sewer collection system and the effectiveness of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Grit erodes mechanical equipment and accumulates in process chambers, causing capacity and operational problems. To help minimize the impact, POS related businesses are required to install and maintain a sand-oil separator as an integral part of the POS establishment.

The Sand-Oil Separator Program is managed by the City of Brighton Utilities Department. The program is applicable to all POS facilities, including but not limited to, automotive service or repair garages, machine shops, car-washing facilities, automotive care centers, auto body shops and also hydraulic elevator pits.

Sand-oil Separator
Sand-oil separators are pretreatment devices commonly used in vehicle related facilities as a method to separate sand and oil from wastewater discharges. They are typically installed in a maintenance shop area and receive oily wastewater generated during processes such as vehicle maintenance and washing. The effluent from sand-oil separators is discharged to the public sanitary sewer system. 

Sand-oil Separator Limitations
Properly designed, installed and operated sand-oil separators provide a treatment system for handling oily wastewater that prevents the entry of unacceptable levels of contamination to the public sanitary sewer system. However, sand-oil separators are generally not designed to separate high concentrations of oil, such as might occur, for example, when a large quantity of oil or sludge is spilled or poured into a wash bay drain. It is important for all personnel who discharge wastewater into a sand-oil separator to understand how they function, including their limitations, in order to prevent them from becoming sources of environmental pollution.
 
Sand-oil Separator Maintenance Requirements
It is required under City Ordinance that all sand-oil separators be pumped every 120-days; and smaller sand traps be cleaned-out every 7 days to ensure proper functioning.