Color in garden pond
Would you dispose of the following water in a garden pond?
- Paint residue from the paint bucket during painting work
- Water from cleaning the paint roller
- Cleaning water
- Car wash water
Certainly not!
If you pour paint residue or cleaning water into a street inlet and there is a rainwater drain in the street, these substances are discharged directly into a surface water body/stream.
Citizens are generally unaware that there is a stormwater drain in the street where the rainwater is discharged directly into a surface water body/stream rather than to the sewage treatment plant. We receive many reports of paint in the stream from other citizens walking along the stream via the fire department. That doesn't have to be the case!
The big request from the Lower Water Authority is therefore! Please check once - then you will know for a lifetime - whether there is a rainwater drain in your street. If so, you must not pour dirty water into the street inlet.
There are similar problems if, for example, new installation pipes for a washing machine or toilet are laid in the basement and the pipes for "clean water and waste water" are mixed up in the house.
The result is very clearly visible in the stream; but finding out the cause and source of the discharge by the city of Aachen is very time-consuming and costly.
Recommendation
How can I tell if I live in a residential area with a separate sewer/rainwater drain?
- The first clue can be seen on the street. If two drainage covers are relatively close to each other, there is a high probability that a separation system is present.
- You can check this more precisely if you check the Infrastructure / Sewer data layer on the homepage of the City of Aachen's geoinformation system and place a 3 tick next to Rainwater pipes. However, please do not load a base map beforehand, as this map covers the sewer data.
Avoid unnecessary car washes. If possible, only wash your vehicle in a modern car wash or at a self-service car wash.
Competent authority