Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Program

In an effort to proactively keep illicit discharges from happening, the City implements a program of inspections, dry weather field screening, and monitoring to detect any potential illicit discharges to the Stormwater System.

We have received reports of a number of illicit or improper discharges recently, including:

• Untreated sewage (typically resulting from floor drains connected to storm sewer lines or improper cross-connections between sanitary sewer and storm sewer lines, but also possible from RV waste dumping);
• Hazardous waste such as paints, pesticides, and used automotive fluids;
• Excess sediment;
• Muriatic acid;
• Concrete saw cut slurry and waste concrete;
• Drainage from pools and spas; and
• Runoff from power-washing.

City residents and businesses have a role to play in preventing illicit discharges as well.  Here are five things you can do:

1. Correct any improper cross-connections you discover.
2. Contain car-wash water by using a commercial car wash or washing your car on the lawn. The City maintains car wash kits that can be used for charity fund raisers.  
3. Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly and dispose of excess safely.  Review usage and disposal suggestions.
4. Protect adjacent storm drain inlets by using filter inserts if removing lawns or doing other landscaping in areas that drain to them.  Inserts can be found at home improvement stores or by searching under “erosion and sediment control” retailers. Larger scale landscaping, or landscaping mixed with exterior hardscaping, may require an erosion control permit.  Read information on the City’s erosion control permit.
5. Don’t dump or wash anything down storm drain inlets that you don’t want in your drinking water.  We ask that courtesy of people who live upstream of our water intake – so let’s do that for those who might have water intakes downstream of us. That means no paint, leftover automotive fluids, pressure-washing runoff, concrete wash out water (which is as alkaline as drain cleaner), cleanout from RV waste systems, used cooking grease, water from hot tubs, or trash like leftover medications, cigarette butts and coffee cups.

• Information on the proper disposal of most household waste, whether hazardous or not, can be found on Metro’s website.
• Direct pressure-washing runoff to landscaped areas.  Use mechanical means to pick up leaves and debris in the street.
• Contain concrete wash-out water in a bin (a kiddie pool works fine for this), let it solidify, and then dispose of in the garbage.
• Dump RV waste at an approved dump station or into the sanitary sewer.
• Drain pool and hot tub water to the sanitary sewer using guidance. Maps of sanitary and storm sewer lines can be found on the City’s interactive mapping program on the City interactive map website. (Storm sewer lines are on the Surface Water map.) 
• Bring unused medication to City take-back events typically held in the spring and fall.  These events are advertised in HelloLO and on the City website calendar starting the month before the event.
• And as for coffee cups and cigarette butts, really?  We know not to litter!

Links for these and other water-wise resources can be found at the "Water...Do Your Part" website. Lake Oswego is one of KOIN's Clean Water Partners.