Find out what pre-treatment equipment you must install to prevent blockages and overflows caused by oil, grease and other substances.
What is pre-treatment?
Pre‑treatment is the equipment your business must install to clean trade wastewater before it enters our wastewater system.
It removes things like oil, grease, food scraps, solids and chemicals, which can block your pipes or overload our waste treatment plants.
Pre‑treatment items include:
- grease traps
- oil-water separators
- and bucket traps.
Your requirements will be confirmed when you apply to discharge trade wastewater at Sydney Water Tap in®.
Industrial trade wastewater
If your business discharges industrial trade wastewater, you’ll likely need a specialist to help you select pre-treatment equipment. This ensures your system meets our acceptance standards.
Excavation and construction
Discharge from open areas is classified as industrial trade wastewater.
If we approve discharge of contaminated surface water or groundwater, you must install:
- a pre‑treatment or first flush system
- an approved flow measurement device
- a rainfall cut‑off device, where required.
Commercial trade wastewater
If your business discharges commercial trade wastewater, you must install and maintain pre‑treatment equipment, such as grease traps.
Food businesses
Most food businesses must install:
- in-sink and in-floor bucket traps
- a correctly sized grease trap
- a backflow prevention device on the property and any tap within 5 metres of the grease trap.
Choose from our listed pre‑treatment for food businesses.
These fact sheets provide more information about grease traps:
Shopping centres
Shopping centres with less than 30,000 litres of total grease trap capacity must install:
- communal grease traps
- separate grease traps for grouped food outlets.
Complexes with 30,000 litres or more of total grease trap capacity must install:
- centralised pre‑treatment, such as dissolved air flotation or an equivalent system
- a discharge meter, installed to our guidelines about flow measurement for trade waste dischargers
- a sampling point located next to the discharge meter.
Automotive businesses
Most automotive businesses must install:
- in‑sink and in‑floor bucket traps
- an oil‑water separation system with a collection pit and pump
- appropriate backflow prevention.
Choose from our listed pre‑treatment for automotive businesses.
Craft breweries
Most craft breweries must install:
- a pH control system
- a flow balancing tank
- a solids removal system.
Check our trade waste requirements for craft breweries.
Medical facilities
Most hospitals or veterinary premises with nuclear medicine units must install delay holding tanks.
Deemed processes
Some types of businesses produce very low risk wastewater. These are called deemed processes. They may not need pre-treatment. However, they must still follow specific rules to stay connected.
Choose from our listed pre‑treatment for other businesses.