How to Treat Industrial Wastewater to Up to Spec for Safe Discharge into Storm Drain

While some storm drains lead to storm sewer systems mostly they funnel water directly into rivers, lakes, and streams. Everyone relies on these bodies of water for drinking and recreation, so keeping contaminants out of stormwater drains is a high priority for everyone. Oil companies and other businesses that produce water that's contaminated with industrial wastes have few options when it comes to getting rid of this kind of wastewater. While sometimes water can be reinjected into an injection well that's designed for the purpose, reusing the water is a better option. The water must be treated to exacting standards to make it clean enough for most uses. If it's clean enough for discharge into storm drains. It's likely clean enough for use in other critical applications. If you operate a facility that produces industrial wastes, you'll want to find out about the complexities of treating industrial wastewater so that it's clean enough for storm drain discharge.

 What Is the Standard for Stormwater Drain Discharge?

There are three ways that commercial and industrial establishments discharge wastewater. These include the sanitary sewer, the ground, and surface water. Discharging to surface water is the most sensitive environmentally since standard sewer system water gets treated and the ground naturally filters out many contaminants.  It requires companies to report on water quality  and sample for threshold values for the contaminants going into storm drains. For intentional storm water drain discharge, industrial companies are advised to follow these standards published by NPDES permits and obtain a NPDES permit.To find out the contamination level of rainwater runoff around your facility, test the water after a storm. This will be the benchmark for how clean your water must be for storm water discharge. 

Challenges to Meeting the Standard Condition of Your Industrial Wastewater

In the oil and gas industry, produced water is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. While water is scarce in oil-producing states such as California, it's hard to dispose of produced water because it contains contaminants that are deemed harmful to sensitive ecosystems. To get this water "as clean as the driven snow," you'll have to assess its condition. You'll find that produced water contains varying levels of salt, chemicals, radioactive substances, and oil. For instance, radioactive substances are found at certain sites naturally since they contain byproducts of decaying organic matter.  In New Haven, CT, the local storm water management office monitors water TDS, which is the measurement for the salt content of production water. Production water can be relatively high in salt, or it can contain salt TDS that exceeds the amount of salt in seawater.

‍Skilled Labor In certain regions, there is a shortage of skilled labor in the field of oil production. While the industry struggles to attract and train new talent for current positions, it would be difficult to recruit an adequate number of new members who are dedicated to treating production water to the extent that it could be safe enough to be released into storm drains. To effectively clean production water, your facility would need a combination of high-technology cleaning materials, test tools, facility space, and specially trained staff. The great news is that there are companies that have been birthed just to meet this environmental need. These water treatment companies thoroughly understand the needs of the oil sector and craft custom solutions for oil businesses that produce large amounts of contaminated water. They stay abreast of national and local regulations regarding water purification as well as the latest technology that makes water treatment more cost-effective.

‍How Companies Are Achieving Positive Outcomes Creative Use of additives

One way that production water treatment companies are gaining ground in this area is through the use of chemical additives. Proprietary processes use a series of tanks and chemical additives to get production water ready for last-stage cleaning. During this phase, technicians apply special formulations of chemical additives to the water. More contaminated water requires more extensive treatment. Although the process can be complex, the result is clean water that can safely be discharged into waterways. Research is ongoing in the quest to find suitable solvents for production water treatment. Massachusetts Institute of Technology doctoral candidate, Anurag Bajpayee, is working on innovative molecular approaches to water treatment. Surprisingly, an example of a common substance that can be used to clean water is soybean oil. Scientists found that soybean oil binds to pure water molecules when heated and leaves behind all other contaminants. The water is released from the oil when the solution is sufficiently cooled.

‍Cleaning for Reuse

After production water goes through such a cleaning process, it would be a waste to discharge it down the storm drain. At least that's what many conservationists in California's Central Valley believe. The region is known as an agricultural mecca that's always under threat of inadequate water supplies. At the 2020 Alternative Irrigation Water Workshop, bright minds came together to discuss the risks and benefits of using oilfield produced water to irrigate the nation's crops. The findings were fascinating and offered hope of a brighter future for a more sustainable oil and gas sector. 

Conclusion

Responsible companies know that just turning a profit isn't enough for long-term success. Doing what's right for people and the planet must also be considered. Advancements in wastewater treatment technologies offer new ways to transform water that's been contaminated by industrial wastes back into a usable supply. Progressive businesses partners with wastewater treatment companies are investing in these new techniques. Together, they make the best use of this precious natural resource. This is a win-win strategy for everyone.

At Magical Chemicals, we are working to solve these problems. To work with us visit our contact page.