Fog control is a process of managing the accumulation of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) in wastewater. FOG is typically generated from food preparation activities such as cooking, washing dishes, and disposing of food waste, which calls for proper FOG control systems.
FOG can accumulate in municipal wastewater treatment systems, leading to clogs in pipes and pumps and impacting the health of our waterways when discharged into the environment. To manage fog buildup within sewer systems, many municipalities impose regulations for businesses that generate proper FOG control.
These regulations for FOG control can include having a licensed plumber inspect grease traps regularly or require businesses to dispose of their FOG through legal means. Grease traps are typically installed at restaurants, but other industries such as slaughterhouses may also require these devices.
The purpose of grease traps is to intercept most of the FOG before it reaches the sewer system by trapping it within its chambers and allowing any remaining water to flow downstream, which can be an effective FOG control method.
Larger cities often provide educational programs for restaurants on how to prevent FOG build up in their sewer systems including proper disposal methods like using an approved rendering company or disposing through culverts or catch basins.
These FOG control programs also encourage good housekeeping practices such as not pouring fat down sinks or drains, keeping floors free from food debris and spills which will reduce chances of contamination entering sewer systems. FOG control efforts will help protect our waterways from FOG pollution while enabling cities to reduce maintenance costs associated with blockages from accumulated FOG in their sewage infrastructure.
Restaurants and similar industries are typically the biggest offenders since fats, oils, and grease (known as FOG) are substances that are produced from food preparation and cleaning procedures. They can accumulate in the municipal sewers and cause major problems for communities with old or inadequate sewer systems.
If not properly managed through FOG control, buildups can cause blockages which lead to overflows of raw sewage. These overflows pose a serious risk to public health due to the presence of harmful bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
Just to recap - in order to reduce the risk of FOG-related sewer clogs, communities must adopt effective management strategies. One FOG control approach is source control – preventing FOG from entering the municipal sewer system in the first place.
This can be achieved through education and outreach activities to encourage people to practice proper disposal methods such as pouring cooled fats, oils, and grease into containers before disposing of them in the trash. For communities that already have FOG-related problems in their systems, pipe cleaning, like the services provided by In-Pipe Technology would be necessary.
This involves using specialized equipment to physically break up blockages caused by hardened FOG deposits in pipes or pumps. In extreme cases where significant damage has occurred, repairs or even replacement may be required. The costs associated with managing FOG buildup can be substantial but are far less than the cost of repairing or replacing damaged infrastructure due to untreated overflows or backup from blocked pipes.
To learn more about the technology involved with In-Pipe's FOG control methods and how effective our solutions are with the help of bioscience-based treatments - all of that and more can be found here.