Management of Carpet Cleaning Wastewater in New Hampshire

Why is Carpet Cleaning Wastewater Disposal Regulated?
Water from washing carpets at residential and commercial locations may contain a wide range of contaminants, including detergents, solvents, disinfectants, suspended solids, grit and carpet fibers. If a carpet cleaner discharges these contaminants to the ground surface or surface waters, they can degrade water quality and threaten aquatic life.

It is illegal to discharge wastewater to a water body (lake, stream, river, or wetland), or to a storm drain or drainage swale leading to a water body, without first obtaining the appropriate federal permit(s).

What are the Wastewater Disposal Options?
Owners and operators of carpet cleaning businesses are responsible for properly managing carpet cleaning wastewater and have two primary disposal options: discharging to a municipal sanitary sewer system (preferred) or to a subsurface disposal system.

1. Discharging to municipal sanitary sewers Before discharging any wastewater to a municipal sanitary sewer system, permission must be obtained from the local municipal sewer authority (public works department or wastewater treatment facility). Wastewater discharge regulatory programs are individually developed by each municipality and may have widely varying requirements. Certain municipalities may require the discharger to submit a permit application and/or perform analytical testing of the wastewater before discharging to the sewer. Some municipalities may also request information pertinent to cleaning activities at residential/commercial sites within their service areas.
   
   
2. Discharging to subsurface wastewater disposal systems (septic systems) Before discharging to a septic system, the wastewater must meet certain conditions and these discharges must be registered by completing a “Registration and Notification Form for Floor Drains and Discharges to Groundwater.” This registration and supporting information is reviewed by DES to ensure that the discharge of wastewater onto or into the ground does not cause the contamination of groundwater, which is New Hampshire’s primary source of drinking water. DES allows such discharges only when they are properly registered. A single blanket registration may be issued to cover all of a carpet cleaner’s activities for residential customers. However discharges from commercial customer locations and carpet cleaning business locations must be registered individually. In some instances a yearly summary of commercial activities and discharges may be required by DES. For additional information, please see fact sheet WD-WSEB-22-9, “Protecting Groundwater from Floor Drains and Other Typical Discharges.”

For subsurface discharges

Important Points to Keep in Mind

For Additional Information
For more information on proper management of carpet cleaning wastewater discharges to groundwater, please visit the DES Drinking Water Source Protection webpage at www.des.nh.gov/dwspp, or call (603) 271-2858. For discharges to municipal wastewater treatment facilities, please contact the local sewer authority or the DES Water Division at (603) 271-3908. For information concerning discharging to surface water contact the DES Water Division (603) 271-3908.

For additional information, please contact the Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau at (603) 271-2513 or dwgbinfo@des.state.nh.us or visit our website at www.des.nh.gov/dwgb. All of the bureau’s fact sheets are on-line at www.des.nh.gov/dwg.htm.

Note: This fact sheet is accurate as of January 2007. Statutory or regulatory changes, or the availability of additional information after this date may render this information inaccurate or incomplete.