Grease Interceptor Pumping in Stockton

“Pumped” has a definition here

Stockton’s ordinance does not let a skim pass as a service. The chapter requires interceptors be maintained “by periodic removal of the full contents of the interceptor, which includes wastewater, accumulated FOG, floating materials, sludge and solids.” Every one of our interceptor visits removes all of it, scrapes the walls, inspects the baffles and sanitary tees while the tank is open, refills with clean water so the trap seal re-forms, and hands you documentation that says exactly that.

The schedule the city will accept

Interceptors must be “fully pumped out and cleaned once every three months or when the combined FOG and solids accumulation ... equals 25 percent of the design hydraulic depth of the grease interceptor, whichever occurs first.” The frequency may be adjusted to your actual grease load — “but shall not be less frequent than once every three months unless specific written authorization from the Director is obtained.” In practice a fryer-heavy restaurant on a 750-gallon tank hits 25% well before three months; a light-menu cafe on the same tank is bound by the calendar. Run your numbers.

What you get after every visit

• Hauler name, operator name and signature
• “Full pump-out” with total gallons removed
• The percent-full reading before service (your 25%-rule record)
• A note on whether repairs are needed — cracked tee, failed baffle, lid that will not seat
• The disposal facility that received the waste

That list is not ours; it is the ordinance’s. Keep the sheet in the three-year file. Checklist and why each line is there →

Access and manholes

Stockton requires a 24-inch access manhole over each interceptor chamber and each sanitary tee. Lids under a dumpster corral or a pallet stack are an inspection finding before anyone opens them. We will tell you if yours are blocked; the inspector will tell you less politely.