Unique Discharges | Environmental Quality Management

On occasion it may be necessary for the University to discharge water or wastewater into the sanitary sewer system that is episodic or unique in nature, such as a batch discharge of high volume. These discharges typically occur as a result of some type of system maintenance.

Requirements

These discharges must meet the limits and requirements set forth in the University’s LFUCG issued Industrial User Permit. In accordance with University policy and permit requirements, the LFUCG Division of Water Quality must be notified in advance of a discharge and must grant approval. This notification must include the location of the discharge, the date and time of occurrence, and the type of waste including the concentration and volume. At no time can the use of potable or process water be increased in an attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to meet the permit limits.

Any University Department planning such a discharge should contact Environmental Management to discuss these requirements and how to proceed.

Discharge Example

The most common example of a unique discharge at the University is the draining of the swimming pool at the University’s Lancaster Aquatic Center. This facility is home to an indoor fifty meter/twenty-two lane swimming pool containing over 1 million gallons of water that is utilized for swim meets and practices, recreational swimming, aquatic classes, swimming and diving lessons, scuba instruction, handicapped swimming, and other aquatic-related activities. To support these activities, the pool must be treated to maintain water quality in accordance with Kentucky public swimming pool regulations. As a result of the water treatment and to maintain water quality it becomes necessary to replace the water in the pool annually. The total contents (all 1,025,000 gallons) are drained to the sanitary sewer at a flow rate of 150-300 gallons per minute. LFUCG is notified well in advance and the discharge is coordinated and timed to avoid wet weather to prevent an overload of the downstream sanitary sewer. As this discharge takes place annually, standard operating procedures have been developed.