Mop water, it appears, was poured into a storm drain, but no one could pin down the source. Cleaning floors, rinsing paint brushes, and cleaning dry-wall compound tools can generate buckets of wash water. The water may contain soap, ammonia, paint, and other construction materials. It is important that people be aware that storm drains in Berkeley pour into local creeks and eventually into the bay. In order to prevent water pollution, wash water should be poured down a sink or drain leading to the sanitary sewer.
Most local communities have similar storm drain labeling programs.
However, not all drains are labeled. Some restrictions to sanitary sewer disposal may apply, such as specialty paint rinsates containing heavy metal pigments. For comments or questions about this web site, contact the web administrators.