 In the military, proper equipment maintenance and cleanliness is a readiness priority. Keeping vehicles and equipment ready for action generates many substances that may be harmful to the environment. Left untreated, these substances can damage local screens, ponds, and waterways. To protect their environment, maintenance personnel are required to follow federal, state, local, and DOD regulations and guidance. Sometimes the enthusiasm of the worker to get the job done overshadows personal obligation to protect their environment. And sometimes they mistakenly think that enthusiasm for finishing the job is washing what's not wanted down that drain. Hey, stop that! You're gumming up the works down here! Did you hear something? Hear what? I said, knock it off! What's down that drain? Did you see it? Yeah, I think so. We must be working too hard. I don't believe we're on our hands and knees listening to a... whatever that is. I was once a maintenance officer, actually chief maintenance officer, until I fouled up my oil-water separator and brought grief to the environment. Environment? Well, I thought this was just a drain. A place for all this stuff to go down. Yeah, it's just a drain. What's it got to do with any oil-water separator thing? I think a tour of the oil-water separator is in order for you guys. So come on down! Where, where are we? I think we're actually inside the oil-water separator. Look at all this stuff. I'm afraid to move. I can't swim. Don't worry. You won't drown. I just want you to see what's down the drain. And the best way to learn is from the inside out. Now listen up, Pilgrim. This guy knows his stuff. The job of an oil-water separator is to remove small amounts of oily substances and some solids from the wastewater that goes down the drain. It's not an all-purpose disposal for everything in the shop. This keeps pollutants out of your streams, ponds and waterways and off the shorelines so everyone can enjoy them. Now, really, listen to this guy. He's going to tell you how a typical separator works. The wastewater enters a grit chamber where the water slows down and solids fall out. Then the water flows into a separation chamber where it hits a plate. The plate slows the flow and distributes the wastewater across the tank. Since oil floats, the oil separates by rising to the surface where it's trapped behind a second plate. Down below, the oil-free wastewater flows out of the separator. It may flow into a sanitary sewer where it gets further treatment or it may go into a storm drain and directly into the environment. To work properly, this system must be able to remove substances from the wastewater entering the separator. In our eagerness to clean and maintain, we sometimes let a lot of stuff besides oily water go down the drain. Take note of this list of items that can easily pollute our environment. You must be very careful when using items like soaps, detergents and cleaners or solvent and paint. You must be even more careful when cleaning around plating wastes, trash and debris, used oil, off-spec fuels, lubricants and antifreeze. And really look out for battery acid and the dreaded hazardous materials. Remember, these items, when used without careful thinking, can harm the very places you spend your personal time, relaxing with your friends and family. The oil-water separator was never meant to remove all these items. And when the separator can't remove the stuff, it gets into the water and damages the environment. That's where you two come in. Now listen up. I'm going to show you how to keep the oil-water separator working smoothly, how to protect the environment and how to maintain the readiness of your equipment. Here are the key things you need to do. Keep hoses turned off when you're not using them to reduce water flow. Remove as much dirt as possible from vehicles and equipment before washing. If you must use cleaners, limit them to the minimum amount needed to do the job. Keep corrosives like battery acid and alkaline paint strippers away from the floor drains and out of the separator. Set up recycling containers for used oil. Lubricants, antifreeze and other fluids. This will drastically limit the junk that enters the oil-water separator. Where possible, plug floor drains to keep substances out of the separator. Use dry absorbent to collect spills. Dry sweep floors to limit what goes down the drain. Hey, we're back in the shop. Hey, look. It's starting to work. I'm starting to get clean again. I don't believe it. Look down the drain. You will protect the environment. It belongs to all of us. It's not that tough. Just follow the rules.