Glendale City Code 33-238: grease interceptors must be pumped every 180 days

Section 33-238(f) sets the interval. It says all grease traps, oil, sand and grease interceptors "shall be pumped out or cleaned out completely at least once every one hundred eighty (180) days, or more frequently as required by the City." The full sentence adds "unless otherwise directed in writing by the City." So 180 days is the ceiling, and the city can move it either way, but only the city and only in writing.

The rest of the section shapes how you do it:

• When you need one (a): interceptors go in laundries, restaurants, service stations, auto repair shops, carwashes and other facilities when, in the city's opinion, they are needed for grease, oil, flammable waste or sand. They are not required for private living quarters or dwelling units.
• Type and access (b, c): the city approves the type and size. The interceptor must be easy to reach for cleaning and inspection, watertight, and have removable covers.
• Owner's duty (d): the owner keeps it working "in continuously efficient operation at all times" at their own expense. Maintenance means removing all contents, including floating material, wastewater and bottom sludge and solids.
• Records (d): written records of all cleaning, repair, calibration and maintenance, kept at the facility for at least three years and shown to the city on request.
• No decanting (e): waste that was removed cannot be poured back into the trap or interceptor it came from, or into any part of the sewer system.
• Additives (g): enzymes, chemicals or bacteria cannot substitute for maintenance. The city may authorize them as a supplement after a written request with safety data sheets. Emulsifiers are strictly prohibited.

Glendale's plumbing code points here too. The city's amendment to the 2024 International Plumbing Code says Section 1003, Interceptors and Separators, defers to the requirements of the Glendale Water Services Department.

• Grease trap versus interceptor: the section uses both words together and does not define the difference. In practice a trap is the small unit inside a kitchen and an interceptor is the large tank outside. The 180-day rule covers both.
• Pumped out or cleaned out completely: the code says "complete removal of all contents." A skim of the top layer does not count.
• Written records: the code lists cleaning, repair, calibration and maintenance. A hauler manifest for each visit is the natural way to show the cleaning part, though the code does not name a form.

Any facility that has a grease, oil or sand interceptor: restaurants, laundries, service stations, auto repair shops and carwashes are named, and the city can require one at other businesses. It does not cover homes. It also does not apply to a business with no interceptor that the city has not required to have one. If you rent, read your lease, because the code puts the duty on the owner and leases often pass it to the tenant.

A taqueria on a 6-month contract. The owner signed with a hauler for twice-yearly pumping. That is about 182 days, so a routine schedule can drift past the code limit by a couple of days. The fix is a shorter interval, such as every five months.

A carwash with a sand interceptor. The rule covers oil and sand interceptors, not only kitchen grease. The carwash pumps on the same clock.

The edge case: written direction from the city. After a blockage traced to a kitchen, the city can require a shorter interval in writing. That letter replaces 180 days for that facility. The reverse is also true: the text lets the city direct a different schedule in writing, so keep any such letter with your records.

1. 1Find the date of your last complete pump-out and count forward 180 days.
2. 2Book the next pump-out for well inside that window with a hauler that removes all contents and gives you a written record.
3. 3Keep every record at the restaurant or shop, not only at the office, for at least three years.
4. 4Confirm your hauler does not return removed waste to the interceptor.
5. 5If you use an additive, send the city a written request with the safety data sheets before relying on it as a supplement.
6. 6Questions about your specific device go to Glendale Water Services, which the plumbing code names as the authority on interceptors.

• "Enzymes mean I can pump less." The code says additives cannot substitute for maintenance. Only the city can approve them, and only as a supplement.
• "Twice a year is fine." It is close, but 180 days is a hard limit, not an average.
• "It is the hauler's job to keep records." The owner keeps the records at the facility.
• "Every Valley city uses the same schedule." They do not. Peoria requires 90 days, Gilbert six months, and Tempe 30 or 90 days by device size.

The rule is Glendale City Code Sec. 33-238 on Municode. Section 33-238 has seven subsections and this page paraphrases them. Where the wording differs, the code wins.