Getting out of the FOG —
MSD's Grease Prevention Program
In 2009, MSD’s Industrial Waste Division focused on grease prevention. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) cause many problems in sanitary sewer lines. FOG builds up on the sides of the pipes, resulting in sewer blockages that can cause backups, flooding, and environmental spills. Blockages cause problems for MSD industrial customers who have to pay for damages and remediation due to FOG buildup, and MSD’s operational costs rise due to maintenance and remediation costs.
The FOG program targets restaurants, cafes, lunch counters, cafeterias, bars, clubs, and kitchens at hotels, hospitals, factories, and schools, and it consists of four key components:
- Prevention Program: MSD is working with new food industry customers by reviewing permit applications and plans to ensure that the business has the appropriate grease traps installed for their volume load.
- Reaction program: If blockages do occur, MSD’s first priority is to get sewers flowing again. Then, MSD works with the food service business that caused the problem to diagnose the issue and prevent blockages from happening again.
- Rehabilitation: In response to customer requests, MSD developed a rehabilitation program with defined standards and processes to aid food service industrial clients in preventing future problems.
- Proactive maintenance: Looking at the collection system, MSD is using its advanced Computer Aided Graphic Information System (CAGIS) program to actively seek out sanitary sewer blockages before they become a problem.
In combination, all four aspects of the program help prevent the unpleasant consequences of sewer blockages from impacting MSD’s customers while reducing costs for all.