Major Airport Industrial Waste Pollution Abatement,
A Comprehensive Program
EDWARL E. CLARK, Vice President
JOCK L. FINK, Senior Engineer
Connel Associates, Inc.
Miami, Florida 33135
INTRODUCTION
General
The Miami International Airport is one of South Florida's leading industries. It is
presently ranked the seventh busiest airport in the United States in passenger traffic and
first inter-American cargo traffic. Associated with and in support of these operations are
many aircraft and airline related industries concentrated in and around the airport
property. These industries vary from airline and Aviation Department executive offices to
complete engine overhauling and testing facilities and include the normally expected
aircraft maintenance facilities and cargo storage warehouses. Industrial operations are
normally conducted by individual tenants (leaseholders) and encompass a wide variety of
complex pollution problems. The Airport is topographically divided into four sectors:
Miami International Air Depot area; Northwest area; Northeast area; and Terminal Area.
Scope and Purpose
Liquid industrial wastes from the airport operations have been disposed of by either
discharge into the sanitary sewer system, scavenger removal (bulk disposal), direct
discharge into the storm sewer system, or runoff into the drainage canal system. The wastes
have received varying degrees of pre-treatment ranging from none to adequate pretreatment. The purpose of the study phase of the project has been to determine the best and
most economical method of collection, treatment, and disposal of industrial wastes from
the Miami International Airport. Specifically, the project has been directed to the following
objectives: 1) To intercept and collect dry-weather industrial waste flows; 2) To provide
adequate pre-treatment of the collected industrial waste flows; 3) To provide a fail-safe
system to intercept floating industrial wastes reaching the canal receiving waters; and 4) To
establish a constant and continuous monitoring program for the receiving waters as an early
warning system against spills and runoff pollution.
Method of Approach
The Miami International Airport is one of the first major airports to attempt such an
extensive waste pollution abatement program within an existing system. Almost none of the
data and information required for waste evaluation and system design were available at the
time of the initial study. In order to obtain these data, a comprehensive waste survey has
been made at the Airport, in which tenants have been visited and processes producing
industrial wastes have been inventoried. Samples have been collected for chemical analyses
and flows have been measured at many locations. Where necessary, tracer studies have been
made to confirm origins of waste sources.
For evaluating the water quality of receiving waters, a sampling program has been
conducted. For each drainage area of the Airport, one station was selected in the drainage
canal at the location where the canal discharges from the airport area. In addition, two
sampling stations were chosen in the Miami River.
The information obtained from the waste survey and sampling program has been
compiled. The decision has been made that dry-weather flow, and the early surge of runoff
should be collected and discharged to the sanitary sewers after adequate pre-treatment.
978