Tips for Businesses
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Restaurants
Automotive Services
Construction & Development
Commercial Landscape Maintenance
Carpet Cleaners
Restaurants
Automotive Services
Construction & Development
Commercial Landscape Maintenance
Carpet Cleaners
Restaurants
Food waste, grease, cleaning solvents, mop water, and trash from restaurant operations often make their way into the City's storm drain system, polluting local waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution and protect the environment.
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Food waste, grease, cleaning solvents, mop water, and trash from restaurant operations often make their way into the City's storm drain system, polluting local waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution and protect the environment.
Click on the tabs below to learn more about each topic
- Clean floor mats, filters and garbage cans in a mop sink, floor drain or proper outside area, not the parking lot, alley, sidewalk or street.
- Pour wash water into a janitorial or mop sink that drains to the sanitary sewer, not outside in the parking lot, alley, sidewalk or street.
- Use non-toxic cleaning products.
- Recycle grease and oil, instead of pouring it into sinks, floor drains or into a parking lot or the street.
- Dispose of all unwanted cleaning products through a hazardous waste hauler. These items are not trash.
- Use dry methods for spill cleanup, by sweeping and using cat litter instead of hosing.
- Have spill containment and cleanup kits available for possible spills on your property. To report serious toxic spills, call 911.
- Keep dumpster lids closed and the areas around them clean. Do not fill with liquid waste or hose them out. Call your trash hauler to replace any dumpsters that leak.
- Sweep outside areas regularly and put the debris in the garbage, instead of sweeping or hosing it into the parking lot or the street.
For more information and tips for Restaurant storm water pollution prevention, click here.
Automotive Services
Motor oil, anti-freeze, and other toxic fluids from auto repair and gas station operations often make their way into the City's storm drain system and flow, untreated, into local creeks and waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution as well as avoid fines and legal action:
Motor oil, anti-freeze, and other toxic fluids from auto repair and gas station operations often make their way into the City's storm drain system and flow, untreated, into local creeks and waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution as well as avoid fines and legal action:
- Use drip pans to catch leaks when pouring and draining fluids
- Prevent leaks from stored vehicles by draining gasoline, hydraulic oil, as well as transmission, break, and radiator fluids
- In case of a hazardous spill, follow your hazardous materials response plan as filed with the fire department and/or other hazardous materials authority
- Be sure employees are familiar with your hazardous materials response plan and are capable of implementing it
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- Keep liquid wastes segregated. Many fluids can be recycled through hazardous waste disposal companies, as long as they are not mixed.
- Store hazardous materials under cover or inside, to prevent leaks and spills.
- Recycle motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze, batteries, solvents, lubricants, tires and metal filings from grinding and polishing metal parts. These items are not trash, and are illegal to dump. Contact a hazardous waste hauler for proper disposal.
- Use dry methods, by sweeping and using absorbent cleaning agents, to clean work areas, instead of hosing them down.
- Sweep outside areas regularly and put the debris in the garbage, instead of sweeping or hosing it into the street.
- Keep dumpster lids closed and the areas around them clean. Do not fill with liquid waste or hose them out. Call your trash hauler to replace any dumpsters that leak
- Wash vehicles at a washing facility that reclaims water. If washed at your business, use berms or sweep to keep contaminated wash water from flowing into the street.
- Use nontoxic detergents and cleaners
For additional tips and information about Automotive Services and storm water pollution prevention, check out these links:
Construction & Development
Soil, cement wash, asphalt, and oil from construction sites often make their way into the City's storm drain system and flow, untreated, into local waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution as well as avoid fines and legal action.
Click on the tabs below to learn more about each topic
Soil, cement wash, asphalt, and oil from construction sites often make their way into the City's storm drain system and flow, untreated, into local waterways. Follow these best management practices to prevent pollution as well as avoid fines and legal action.
Click on the tabs below to learn more about each topic
- Erosion Prevention
- Concrete & Mortar Application
- Handling Materials & Waste
- Managing Spills
- Equipment Maintenance
- Reduce erosion by avoiding excavation or grading activities during wet weather, and by planting temporary vegetation on slopes where construction is not immediately planned.
- Use berms and diversion dikes to channel and contain runoff.
- Prevent mortar and cement from entering storm drains by placing erosion controls such as berms or temporary vegetation down-slope to capture runoff.
- Wash concrete mixers and equipment only in specified wash-out areas, where the water flows into containment ponds. Cement wash water can be reused by pumping it back into cement mixers.
- Never dispose of cement washout into driveways, streets, gutters catch basins, or drainage ditches.
- Cover exposed piles or bags of soil, cement and other construction materials with plastic sheeting to prevent it from blowing or washing into the storm drain system.
- Recycle broken asphalt, concrete, wood and cleared vegetation.
- Store hazardous materials under cover or inside, to prevent leaks and spills.
- Dispose of hazardous materials through a hazardous waste hauler or other means in accordance with the construction permit.
- In case of a hazardous spill, follow your hazardous materials response plan as filed with the fire department or other hazardous materials authority.
- Inspect vehicles and equipment frequently for leaks.
- Perform major equipment repairs and washing off site.
- Use gravel approaches where truck traffic is frequent to reduce soil compaction and limit the tracking of sediment into the streets.
Commercial Landscape Maintenance
Keeping lawns and gardens looking good isn't always good for our watershed and environment. Sprinkler runoff carries pesticides and fertilizers into the City's storm drain system. Leaves, grass clippings, and yard waste that is swept or blown into the street, along with sediment from erosion, clog catch basins and pollute waterways. Follow thee best management practices to prevent pollution.
Click on the tabs below to learn more about each topic
Keeping lawns and gardens looking good isn't always good for our watershed and environment. Sprinkler runoff carries pesticides and fertilizers into the City's storm drain system. Leaves, grass clippings, and yard waste that is swept or blown into the street, along with sediment from erosion, clog catch basins and pollute waterways. Follow thee best management practices to prevent pollution.
Click on the tabs below to learn more about each topic
- Recycle leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste, instead of blowing, sweeping or hosing them into the street or gutter.
- Let your customers know about grasscycling. Let grass clippings drop on the lawn, instead of using a grass catcher. The clippings act as a natural fertilizer, returning nutrients and organic matter back to the soil, and because grass is mostly water, it also irrigates lawns, conserving water. Reducing the need to water as often or use toxic fertilizers means less contaminated runoff.
- Prevent erosion and sediment runoff by using berms and vegetation down-slope to capture runoff.
- Cover exposed piles or bags of soil, groundcover and other materials with plastic sheeting to prevent it from blowing or washing into the storm drain system.
- Spot apply pesticides, rather than blanketing entire areas.
- Ask you customers if they prefer nontoxic alternatives to traditional pesticides and fertilizers.
- Do not put pesticides or fertilizers in the trash. Dispose of hazardous materials through a hazardous waste hauler or take them to a household hazardous waste collection site to be recycled.
- Control the amount of water and direction of sprinklers, to avoid waste and runoff.
- Periodically inspect and fix leaks and misdirected sprinklers.
For more information about Landscaping and storm water pollution prevention, click here.