Stormwater and wastewater may not be top of mind for most residents and business owners, but the decisions we make every day can have a direct impact on Nicholasville’s waterways, infrastructure, and community.
In the latest installment of the City Notes interview series, City Engineer Brian Claar discussed the important differences between stormwater and wastewater, what local businesses should know about protecting these systems, and how simple preventative practices can make a lasting difference.
Understanding Stormwater and Wastewater
While the terms stormwater and wastewater are sometimes used interchangeably, they refer to two very different types of water.
Stormwater is truly weather oriented. It’s precipitation falling out of the sky, whether it be rain, sleet, or snow.
Wastewater, on the other hand, includes water generated through everyday activities and commercial processes. For example, water used at a car wash or collected from the floor drains of an automotive shop may contain soaps, oils, grease, or other pollutants and must be properly treated or directed into the sanitary wastewater system.
Understanding the difference is especially important because stormwater can eventually reach groundwater, streams, rivers, and other waterways. What enters the stormwater system can therefore have an impact well beyond an individual property.
What Nicholasville Businesses Should Know
For business and commercial property owners, protecting stormwater often starts with good housekeeping and employee education.
Claar encourages businesses to take a close look at their day to day operations and consider whether any activity could allow pollutants to reach a storm drain.
Look at how you conduct your business, and if you are impacting the stormwater in a negative way, do your due diligence to try to change your business practices so that doesn’t happen.
Those practices can be as straightforward as keeping dumpsters covered, properly protecting materials stored outdoors, monitoring vehicles and equipment for leaks, and preventing wash water from flowing into storm drains.
Businesses with stormwater management features on their property, including filter baskets, detention ponds, and other filtration systems, should also regularly inspect and maintain them so they continue working as intended.
Construction sites have an important role as well. Properly maintained erosion and sediment controls help keep soil, sediment, and construction debris on site and out of Nicholasville’s stormwater system and neighboring properties.
Keeping Fats, Oils and Grease Out of the Sewer System
Restaurants and food service businesses face another important responsibility: properly managing fats, oils and grease, commonly known as FOG.
When grease is improperly disposed of, it can accumulate inside sanitary sewer lines and eventually create significant blockages. Claar noted that Nicholasville crews have encountered sewer lines containing substantial grease buildup, making repairs difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
If either the compartment grease traps or the system traps are not inspected and maintained, there could be serious issues with the public sewer system.
In severe cases, a blockage can cause the sanitary sewer system to back up and potentially overflow from a manhole.
Regular inspection and maintenance of grease traps, along with proper grease disposal, can help businesses prevent these problems before they begin.
See Something? Let Nicholasville Know
Protecting water quality is a community effort, and residents and businesses can help by reporting potential problems when they see them.
If you notice someone dumping materials where they should not, an illicit discharge into a storm drain, a blocked drain, or another potential stormwater concern, contact Nicholasville City Hall and ask for the Engineering Department. Providing a description of what you observed, along with your contact information when appropriate, can help staff investigate the situation.
The goal is not simply enforcement. Nicholasville’s Engineering Department is available to answer questions, investigate concerns, and help businesses understand what they can do to protect water quality and remain in compliance.
Water Quality Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Responsible stormwater and wastewater practices ultimately benefit the entire community. Cleaner water helps protect natural resources and recreational areas, supports drinking water sources, and can make water easier to treat. Clean, well maintained commercial properties also contribute to a more attractive community for residents, visitors, and businesses.
For Claar, the message is simple:
Water quality for the City of Nicholasville is everyone’s responsibility.
From businesses maintaining their properties and grease traps to contractors controlling erosion and residents properly managing litter and waste, individual actions add up.
As Nicholasville continues to grow, protecting our water and infrastructure requires all of us to do our part.
For questions about stormwater, wastewater, water quality, or to report a concern, contact Nicholasville City Hall and ask for the Engineering Department. Nicholasville staff are available to provide information and help residents and businesses protect the resources our community depends on.
To listen to the full interview on YouTube, click HERE.