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/computer industry, we conclude “garbage in, garbage out.” To assist the operator in properly identifying contaminants and troubleshooting occurring OWS systems failures members of the SNAME / ASNE joint Technical and Research Committee panel EC-3 (Oily Waste Water and Bilgewater) developed this diagnostic “Guide to Diagnosing Contaminants in Oily Bilgewater: Operation and Maintenance of Bilgewater Treatment Systems.”
This six-point 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 types of oily bilgewater system failures.