Industrial Waste Water

(Best Management Practices)

Nio Louie R. Boloron and Kearth A. Curan

Best Management Practices (BMP)

Is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe a type of water
pollution control. Historically the term has referred to auxiliary pollution
controls in the fields of industrial wastewater control and municipal sewage
control, while in stormwater management (both urban and rural) and wetland
management, BMPs may refer to a principal control or treatment technique
as well (Wikipedia).
Methods or techniques found to be the most effective and practical means in
achieving an objective (such as preventing or minimizing pollution) while
making the optimum use of the firm's resources.
Describe ways to manage your land or your activities to reduce or prevent
pollution of surface and groundwater near you. These practices protect your
family's health, but also help protect the other uses of our water such as
recreation, animal habitat, fisheries, and agricultural uses such as irrigation
or stock watering. Best management practices are usually simple and low
tech, and benefit everybody.

Industrial Wastewater BMPs

Industrial wastewater BMPs are considered an adjunct to engineered treatment
systems. Typical BMPs include operator training, maintenance practices, and spill
control procedures for treatment chemicals. There are also many BMPs available
which are specific to particular industrial processes, for example:

source reduction practices in metal finishing industries (e.g. substituting less

toxic solvents or using water-based cleaners);

in the chemical industry, capturing equipment washdown waters for

recycle/reuse at various process stages;

in the paper industry, using process control monitoring to optimize bleaching

processes, and reduce the overall amount of bleach used

Best Management Practices for Water Efficiency

The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) worked with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop 14 water efficiency best
management practices (BMPs) to help agencies increase water efficiency and meet
federal requirements. Each BMP provides operations and maintenance
improvements and retrofit and replacement options. Use these best management
practices to glean project ideas for reducing water use and increasing water
efficiency at your agency.
Water efficiency best management practices:

Water Management Planning

Information and Education Programs

Distribution System Audits, Leak Detection, and Repair

Water-Efficient Landscaping

Water-Efficient Irrigation

Toilets and Urinals

Faucets and Showerheads

Steam Boiler Systems

Single-Pass Cooling Equipment

Cooling Tower Management

Commercial Kitchen Equipment

Laboratory and Medical Equipment

Other Water-Intensive Processes

Alternative Water Sources

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #1: WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING

A successful water management program starts with a comprehensive strategic
plan. The process for developing a strategic plan is generally the same for an
individual facility or an agency. The plan provides information about current water
uses and charts a course for water efficiency improvements, conservation activities,
and water-reduction goals. A strategic plan establishes the priorities and helps a site
or agency allocate funding for water-efficiency projects that provides the biggest
impact.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #2: INFORMATION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Educating users about water conservation is essential to sustain the savings of
water-efficient technologies and practices. It is not enough to install water-saving
technology in a facility. New operation procedures, retrofits, and replacements are
most effective when employees, contractors, and the public know what the new
technologies or methods are and how to use them properly.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #3: DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AUDITS, LEAK
DETECTION, AND REPAIR
A distribution system audit, or leak detection and repair program, may help identify
and reduce water losses and be better stewards of water as a resource.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #4: WATER-EFFICIENT LANDSCAPING

Water-efficient landscapes using native and other climate-appropriate plant

materials can reduce irrigation water use to better withstand drought, reduce
drought loss or damage, and require less time and money to maintain. Waterefficient landscaping also includes maintenance techniques that create a landscape
that requires less water.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #5: WATER-EFFICIENT IRRIGATION
Water efficiency must be considered from the initial irrigation system design phase
through installation to ensure optimal performance. Consistent management and
maintenance are also essential. Failure to do so can result in significant losses in
system efficiency from poor management, improper system design, installation, or
maintenance.
With the irrigation system hardware operating efficiently, it is important to consider
the irrigation schedule, which dictates the amount and timing of the water applied.
Water changes with the seasons, as should your irrigation schedule.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #6: TOILETS AND URINALS
Toilets and urinals can account for nearly one-third of a buildings water
consumption. Inefficient or poorly maintained toilet and urinal fixtures can be a
major source of water waste in commercial, residential, and institutional buildings;
thus, significant savings are possible in this area.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #7: FAUCETS AND SHOWERHEADS
Most federal buildings have faucets in restrooms, kitchens, and laboratories. Many
federal installations have showers, including barracks, family housing, recreation
facilities, and locker rooms. Significant opportunity for water and energy savings
exists for these fixtures when upgrading to efficient technology and employing
conservation practices.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #8: STEAM BOILER SYSTEMS
Steam boilers are commonly used in large heating systems, institutional kitchens, or
in facilities where large amounts of process steam are used. This equipment
consumes varying amounts of water depending on system size and the amount of
condensate returned.
Develop and implement a routine inspection and maintenance program to check
steam traps and steam lines for leaks. Repair leaks and replace faulty steam traps
as soon as possible.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #9: SINGLE-PASS COOLING EQUIPMENT

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #10: COOLING TOWER MANAGEMENT

Cooling towers dissipate heat from recirculating water used to cool chillers, air
conditioners, or other process equipment to the ambient air. Heat is rejected to the
environment from cooling towers through the process of evaporation. Therefore, by
design, cooling towers use significant amounts of water.
The sum of water that is lost from the tower must be replaced by make-up water:
Make-Up = Evaporation + Blowdown + Drift
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #11: COMMERCIAL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
Commercial kitchen equipment can be a significant water use in the non-residential
sector. Water efficiency for commercial kitchen equipment is especially important
because high-volume applications typically use mostly hot water. Ensuring that
commercial kitchen equipment uses water efficiently affords both significant water
and energy savings.
Water-using commercial kitchen equipment includes:
Commercial ice makers
Commercial dishwashers
Commercial steam cookers
Pre-rinse spray valves
Food disposals.

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #12: LABORATORY AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

Equipment used in hospitals and laboratories can use significant amounts of water,
offering the opportunity for substantial water savings by making a few small
changes to how and when the water is used by the equipment.
Water-consuming equipment in laboratories and medical facilities include water
purification systems, sterilization and disinfection systems photographic and x-ray
equipment, vacuum systems, glassware washers, and vivarium equipment.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #13: OTHER WATER-INTENSIVE PROCESSES

When assessing facility water use, it is important to identify and analyze all waterintensive processes for potential efficiency improvements. This BMP provides tips on
water-saving operational and maintenance actions as well as retrofit and
replacement options for these equipment types.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE #14: ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES
water uses that can be met with non-potable water from alternative water sources.
Alternative water sources are sustainable sources of water, not supplied from fresh
surface water or groundwater, that offset the demand for freshwater. Examples of
alternative water sources include:

Harvested rainwater from roofs

Onsite stormwater

Graywater

Discharged water from water purification processes

On-site reclaimed wastewater

Captured condensate from air handling units.

The discharge/disposal of industrial wastewaters can be classified as

follows:

Uncontrolled discharges to the environment.

Controlled (licensed) discharges to the environment (watercourses) possibly

after pre-treatment.

Illegal, mostly clandestine, discharges to sewerage systems.

Controlled discharges to sewerage systems under agreement or licence,

possibly with pre-treatment.

Wastewaters collected by tanker for treatment/disposal

elsewhere.

It is important to note that, in many cases, large volumes of industrial

wastewaters which are legally discharged to decaying and/or badly operated
sewerage networks, both combined and separate, never actually reach a treatment
plant.
Various approaches to effective industrial wastewater control are available such
as the use of appropriate technology (specified, for example, as the best
economically available) or the issuing of permits or consents based on volumes
and quality standards for discharges either to sewers or directly to watercourses.
In some countries (e.g. United States) pre-treatment standards apply to all
industrial users wishing to discharge to the sewerage system (to control pollutants
that
may
pass
through
or
interfere with the treatment works processes or which may contaminate the sewage
sludge).
In others each discharge is treated on its own merits irrespective of its general
type
or
classification, and standards are set according to the nature and condition of the
receiving water. Normally standards include numerical limit values for chemicals,
solid materials, temperature, pH and the like, while some substances are banned
completely.
Highly effective control can be observed in the developed world and improvements
continue with time.
As described in the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Directive and the
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive, the polluter-pays has
become a guiding principle among these countries followed by laws and regulations
designed and enforced to implement it.