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Food entities without grease traps face legal action

Apr 22, 2010 News

With only 35 percent of Georgetown eating houses in the sewer area having grease traps, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has taken legal action against several restaurant owners and commercial cooking vendors who have refused to install grease traps within their facilities.
All told there are fifty eating houses in the sewered area.
GWI’s Director of Corporate Services, Attorney-at-law Nigel Niles, said, “The company already has five defaulting business owners before the court, while several others have received warning letters.
“Disposing of any solid matter, other than lavatory and kitchen waste, into the sewerage is a criminal offence under the Water and Sewerage Act of 2002.”
All food handling facilities are required to install grease receptors to pre-treated grease entering the sewer. Receptors or grease traps should be sized according to the volume of waste water being discharged from the facility. A typical grease trap must have the capacity to hold wastewater for a minimum of 30 minutes before it is discharged into the sewer system.
Grease traps should also be consistently cleaned.  All fats and other solid waste should be removed from the grease trap and discarded appropriately.  Previously, GWI made several appeals to commercial customers to install grease traps within their facilities by way of letters and a public education programme.
The company also provided information on the specification of the units suitable for individual businesses.
Sanitation Manager, GWI, Rensforde Joseph, addressing the issue said that only 35 per cent of the eating houses located in the sewer area have grease traps installed. As such, the sewerage system continues to be abused.
He stated, “The sewerage system is there for the benefit of customers and can only become 100 per cent efficient if customers desist from abusing it.
Solid waste dumped into the system by delinquent customers, especially fats and oils usually solidify and clog the sewer lines. This becomes more harmful when caught within the sewerage pumps.
On many occasions, the company’s pump motors become damaged and this results in sewerage overflows, which are a terrible inconvenience and a public health hazard for customers.”
GWI has commenced the rehabilitation of the sewerage system under the Georgetown Water Supply and Sewerage Programme II funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This included the recently completed Tucville Septage Receiving Station and several pump stations around Georgetown. The Company continues to appeal to customers to install grease traps on kitchen sinks, since this will significantly improve the efficiency of the sewerage system.

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