Wastewater sewer systems in industrial zones are different from those used in ordinary business premises. The EPA has issued a preannouncement of revisions to wastewater prevention measures in order to more effectively manage the treatment of effluent and improve the quality of water discharged from industrial zone.
Under current water pollution control regulations, wastewater sewer systems of all types are covered by the Water Pollution Prevention Measures and Test Reporting Management Regulations. However, the wastewater sewer systems in industrial zones are different from those in ordinary business premises. Effluent should first be pre-treated in the factory to comply with stated minimum value restrictions and then mixed with pre-treated effluent from other factories in a main collection pipe that transports all pre-treated effluent to a joint wastewater treatment plant. After another round of treatment in the plant, the wastewater is discharged into a local body of surface water. Although management regulations for the zones differentiate between different categories and levels of industry, the water pollution regulations do not take into account the fact that the effluent from all of the industries ends up mixed together in the main collection pipe. This is the main reason for the upcoming revision of the regulations.
With technological advancements in the continuous automatic monitoring of water quality and in data transmission, it is now possible to make continuously updated information on water quality available online. This is of great benefit in reassuring the public as to the quality of wastewater discharged from industrial zones. A new set of average maximum value restrictions have also been drawn up as a part of the latest revision to the wastewater standards that were announced on 28 July 2009. The introduction of the new values is in keeping with trends in effluent control and will make it easier to control the quality of wastewater in industrial zones. Regulations governing the continuous automatic monitoring of water quality have been issued to industrial zone authorities so they have a set of benchmarks to refer to.
The part of the revisions that refers to the management of collective effluent states that it is the responsibility of the drainage system management authorities to ensure that the existing system functions smoothly. The relevant authorities are also to instigate inspections of factories in the zones to ensure that pre-treatment facilities are in good working order and are being operated properly. The authorities will also be responsible for periodically checking the quality of effluent in feeder pipes and will also be charged with conducting evaluations and reviews of the capabilities of all facilities that treat water both piped into or out of the factory. They will also be responsible for formulating and submitting voluntary drainage system management plans should the EPA decide in the future that levels of pollutants in wastewater need to be even lower, and for carrying out the plans once they have been reviewed and approved by the EPA.
Revisions referring to the continuous automatic monitoring of water quality and combined discharge now require that operators of permitted wastewater discharges of over 10,000 CMD that have passed environmental impact assessments install water meters on both inlet and discharge pipes. In addition, discharge pipes must also be fitted with instruments to automatically monitor water quality (temperature, pH, conductivity, COD, SS, and any other parameters set by the EPA) and video monitoring systems. The resulting data and images shall be transmitted via Internet to the EPA for review. Operators who have been fined three times or more in a year by zone management authorities because their sewer systems have violated the Water Pollution Control Act will also be subject to the above requirements.
The EPA predicts that enforcement of the new regulations concerning the management of collective effluent will force management authorities of industrial zones to take a more thorough and proactive approach to managing the effluent discharged by the factories under their jurisdiction. The EPA also points out that the installation of automatic monitoring equipment and combined discharge will also have a positive impact on the quality of effluent discharged by allowing for real-time warning alerts, for immediate emergency response, and for water quality data to be made open to the public as appropriate.
