Commercial

If you own or manage a commercial or industrial entity in Louisville Metro, Project WIN has the following resources that outline best management practices for waste water and storm water discharges. More information on how to help water quality is described below:

MSD’s Industrial Waste Department administers the federally mandated and approved Pretreatment Program under State and Federal regulations to inspect and monitor the Significant Industrial Users in Jefferson County.  The purpose of MSD’s pretreatment program is to protect health and safety, protect the collection system, prevent noncompliance and protect the receiving waters.

Pretreatment Program

The pretreatment program regulates industrial facilities discharging wastewater to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). These facilities, known as industrial users, discharge process wastewater often contaminated by a variety of toxic or otherwise harmful substances. Because POTWs are usually not specifically designed to treat these substances, pretreatment programs are needed to eliminate potentially serious problems that occur when these substances are discharged into public sewer systems.

Hazardous Materials

The goal of the Metro Hazardous Materials Ordinance (HMO) is the protection of health, life, resources, and property through prevention and control of unauthorized discharges of hazardous materials. This is achieved through requirements for spill planning prevention and control, as well as timely notification when spills occur. MSD is the agency tasked with administering the HMO.

Industrial Stormwater

The purpose of the industrial stormwater program is the prevention or control of discharges of pollution to the Municipal Separate Stormwater System (MS4) from commercial/industrial facilities.

Commercial/Public swimming pools

Commercial pool backwash must be plumbed to the sanitary sewer or daylighted if a sewer is not available. Please contact MSD’s customer relations for additional help to set this up at 540-6917.

Best Management Practices for Conserving Pool Water

• Cover the pool when not in use to control the rate of evaporation and to keep pool chemicals from evaporating.
• Add a fence, trees or shrubs to provide a windbreak to help reduce evaporation.
• If you have a pool heater, reduce the temperature when not in use.
• Only drain and refill the pool when required for water quality reasons.
• Only backwash pool filters when necessary. If the backwash cycle can be controlled, check and adjust the cycle to ensure optimal efficiency.
• Use a pump head loss to determine backwash frequency (8-10 PSI loss is a good general rule of thumb).
• If possible, use filter backwash water for watering lawns or plans or for cooling water makeup water.
• Lower the pool water level to reduce the amount of water that can be splashed out.
• Check the pool regularly for cracks and leaks and make repairs as soon as possible (if water level drops more than 1 inch per day, check for leaks).
• Use a pool vacuum that recycles water when cleaning.

Fats, Oils and Grease

When put down the drain, fats, oils and grease wash into our sewer system and can cause major problems. Anything that is solid at room temperature will also be solid in the sewer. When FOG collects in sewer pipes, the pipe can clog and can lead to basement backups and sewer overflows. Project WIN has the following resources that outline best management practices for waste water and storm water discharges. Read more information on how to help water quality.