Wastewater

All items that enter the the sewer system (e.g. poured down a drain or flushed down a toilet) must comply with local, state and federal wastewater rules, regulations, and standards. These rules are designed to protect local waterways and maintain the quality of biosolids at wastewater treatment plants. 

Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permits were issued for the Seattle campus and Harborview Medical Center, which include King County local sewer limits and best management practices for all operations that generate wastewater.

Manage chemical process wastes

The best management practices include managing chemical process waste (e.g., acids, bases, Cidex OPA, ethidium bromide, formaldehyde, etc.) that may occur at UW research and academic laboratories, health care facilities, animal care facilities and the medical centers. Water from these process wastes can be treated and discharged to the sanitary sewer according to the UW Treatment by Generator Program. 

We have also incorporated best management practices from the King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program Laboratory Waste Management Guide.

Other permitted discharges are from the following sources:

• Shops and maintenance facilities
• Compost leachate and contaminated stormwater
• Contaminated groundwater from power plant
• Miscellaneous oil/water separators
• Fountain draining and cleaning
• Pressure washing
• Parking lot and roadway sweeping and cleaning

All wastes discharged to the sanitary sewer system must comply with permit limits.

Other locations

If you are outside King County (e.g., UW Tacoma, Pack Forest, Friday Harbor), you are not allowed to pour any chemicals down the drain without explicit permission. Local sewer limits will vary, depending on the location or activity, and must be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Construction projects

Construction, alterations and maintenance projects may also generate wastewater that must be disposed of properly. Lead, asbestos and other hazardous materials may cause the wash water to exceed and violate sewer discharge limits. 

If hazardous materials could be in your wash water, you must collect samples and have them tested. If the water violates local sewer discharge limits and cannot be treated, then it must be disposed of as a dangerous waste. Please contact Environmental Health & Safety with questions.