AVOIDING "GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT;" A SIX POINT GUIDE TO DIAGNOSING CONTAMINANTS IN OILY BILGEWATER TO MAINTAIN, OPERATE AND TROUBLESHOOT OILY WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

Shipboard bilges can be a sink and reservoir for a range of substances other than oil and water, i.e., particles, chemicals, biological activity, any of which alone or in combination can cause an oily water separator (OWS) and related bilge water treatment systems to fail. Borrowing from the data processing / computation industry we conclude "garbage in, garbage out." To assist the operator in properly identifying contaminants and troubleshooting occurring OWS systems failures, members of SNAME's Technical and Research Committee panel EC-3 (Oily Waste Water and Bilge-water) developed a diagnostic guide "A Guide to Diagnosing Contaminants in Oily Bilgewater to Maintain, Operate and Troubleshoot Bilgewater Treatment Systems." This Guide provides a foundation for the development of bilge water contaminant identification skills along with diagnostic and bilge water treatment systems troubleshooting techniques to prevent and remedy many hypes of oily bilgewater system failures.