Washington Department  of Ecology Wine Waste Water Permits

Washington Department of Ecology Wine Waste Water Permits

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
It's Vine to Wine Wednesday on the Fruit Grower Report. Washington Winery owners are concerned about the fact the Washington Department of Ecology is in the process of developing a state a statewide general permit that will cover wastewater discharges from the wine industry. According to the timetable on their website wineries will need a general permit in the summer of 2017

Stuart Childs, senior scientist with Kennedy/Jenks Consultants talks about the two waste streams wineries need to deal with.

CHILDS: If you separate your solids and your water, then you have two waste management streams. Sometimes you're not set up for that. Sometimes you may have a discharge system where it's ok that they're combined but be aware, solids plus water equals odor.

Childs says that there is a way to improve waste water from the beginning.

And that you can also improve processed water quality by separating things as fast as you can with solids. Those are the good things about separating solids. Another thing is you need to protect your discharge and if you put all your solids in a pond you could have an odor problem, you might reach capacity in your pond slowly but surely, there can be issues.

He also says that solids in a drain field or septic system is a very bad idea. Childs was speaking to a group of wine industry people and giving them a brief overview of how systems can work and how that could be modified to comply with the proposed DOE permit. The permit is currently going through scrutiny and public comment. If you are concerned about how the permit could affect your operation or to just find out more information, visit the Department of Ecology's website.

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