Between manufacturing companies, restaurants, automotive and trucking facilities, car washes, dentists, and other industrial and commercial businesses, there is always the potential for unwanted pollutants to flow from indoor sinks and drains into sewers and storm drains. But who ensures that local commercial and industrial businesses are doing their part to protect the function and health of the sewer system?

The Industrial Waste Division at the City of Redding is a small but mighty team of four. It includes Tracy Wyhlidko, Industrial Waste Supervisor, and Mike Palmer, Mary Newnam, and Patric Falconer, Industrial Waste Analysts. The team has a combined total of 25 years working to ensure our local sewers and storm drains are protected from the hazards of industrial waste.

Left to right: Patric Falconer, Mike Palmer, Mary Newnam, and Tracy Wyhlidko

Palmer, Newnam, and Falconer wear many (hard) hats in their work as analysts. A typical workday includes field inspections of businesses, probing underground interceptor tanks, and collecting wastewater samples for analysis. Additionally, they inspect construction sites, review construction permit plans and paperwork, track inspection results, answer calls and emails from local businesses, and respond to citizen complaints of water pollution.

For Wyhlidko, a typical workday includes the work of an analyst, in addition to preparing for future wastewater sampling events, ordering inspection and sampling supplies, and scheduling inspections. Wyhlidko also writes reports, arranges staff training, and helps ensure staff has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to manage water quality and wastewater treatment in Redding.

Wastewater treatment is the process of collecting sewage in pipes, conveying it to wastewater treatment plants, and transforming it into clean water that can be discharged into the Sacramento River. The process involves using bacteria and other microorganisms to treat the wastewater. Chemicals and other pollutants in the sewer system can disrupt the treatment process.

The City of Redding's Stillwater Wastewater Treatment Plant

Inspectors help ensure that grease, oil, and sediment from restaurants and car/truck facilities are captured in underground interceptor tanks to help prevent sewers from clogging. Their work is required by the State of California and by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Grease and oils from restaurants and households are some of the most common causes of sewer line blockage. The Industrial Waste team considers it one of the biggest issues they encounter. The community can help reduce blockages by pouring used cooking oil into a container and delivering it to the Transfer Station. They can also scrape or wipe grease and oil off pots, pans, and dishes and into the trash before washing.

And what about those pesky “flushable” wipes, baby wipes, and cleaning wipes? They are among the most common items in the sewer system that should NEVER be there. The team says the word “flushable” is grossly misleading because those wipes never break down in the system as toilet paper does. Instead, the so-called “flushable” wipes are often found fully intact at the wastewater treatment plant and must be physically removed with screening equipment. It’s a consistent issue for the team and the larger City sewer system, one that is easily avoidable if everyone bags these items instead of flushing them.

Every year, the City of Redding Industrial Waste team conducts over 1000 inspections, including over 400 food facilities, 130 automotive/trucking facilities, and 45 dental facilities requiring a specific interceptor or trap system. Redding has 10 large permitted industrial facilities that are inspected twice per year. Wastewater at those 10 facilities is tested quarterly. It’s intense work to manage the inspections, but the team is always up to the task, motivated by a commitment to the community's health and the success of local commercial and industrial businesses that are so vital to Redding.

“Redding is a city full of proud business owners who want to protect the natural environment and the Sacramento River. When we explain how the sewer system works and that all the treated water eventually ends up back in the river, business owners begin to understand that they are part of a larger system,” says Wyhlidko.

It’s a full-circle moment for an Industrial Waste Team that recognizes that small, individual steps can make a big difference in a community.