Why You Need
a Concrete
Washout
The water you rinse a chute, pump or tools with is caustic, close to drain cleaner, and full of fine grit. Dumped on the ground, it runs to the storm drain, and storm drains carry it straight to creeks and rivers with no treatment. A washout catches it in one spot so it can harden and be hauled off.
Why do I need a concrete washout?
Every pour ends with a rinse. The chute, the pump truck hopper, the wheelbarrows and the tools all get washed off before the concrete sets. What comes off is washout water: a gray slurry of water, cement and sand.
That slurry is caustic. The EPA puts it at a pH near 12. Liquid drain cleaner is about 13.5. It burns plants, changes the soil, and harms fish if it reaches a creek.
A washout is a leak-proof pan or bin the crew rinses into. The water dries off, the solids harden, and the concrete gets hauled away. Storm drains are built for rain. Slurry was never on the guest list.
Why Utah keeps calling Bubs Disposal
What washout water does when it gets loose
The EPA calls concrete washout water caustic and corrosive. It can irritate skin and damage eyes, which is why crews handle it with care. Here is what it does outside the washout.
It changes the dirt
Slurry that soaks in alters the soil chemistry and keeps plants from growing. Rain can push it down into the groundwater too.
It is too harsh for fish
Fish do best in water between pH 6.5 and 9. Washout water sits near 12. It can harm their gills and eyes and get in the way of breeding.
It hardens where it lands
The sand and cement in the slurry do not wash away. They settle and harden, and they can clog storm drain pipes and cause local flooding.
Where rinse water goes when it hits the ground
The storm drain at the curb is not the sewer. Nothing cleans storm water before it reaches a creek, river or lake.
Off the site
Rinse water dumped on the ground runs off the site toward the road and the gutter. Rain can carry it out too.
Into the storm drain
Utah’s Division of Water Quality says it plainly: storm water is not treated. It flows straight into nearby water.
Out to the lake
In Salt Lake City, storm drains empty into the Jordan River or canals, and all of them flow to the Great Salt Lake.
Why job sites are expected to contain it
Construction stormwater falls under the federal Clean Water Act. Federal rules for construction sites ban letting concrete washout run off, and say rinse water goes into a leak-proof container or pit.
In Utah, the Division of Water Quality handles construction stormwater. Covered sites write a SWPPP, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, which is the plan for keeping dirt, slurry and other mess out of stormwater. A washout is a normal line in that plan.
The EPA also tells site superintendents to watch for improper dumping and to write washout rules into contracts with concrete companies. That is why a lot of general contractors and inspectors expect a washout on site before the first truck shows up.
Every site is different. For the rules on yours, check with your city or the Utah Division of Water Quality. We bring the washout.
A washout that keeps slurry contained, off the ground and out of storm drains. Note it in your SWPPP. When it is full, text us and we swap it or pull it.
A hardened mess or a washout
Slurry on the ground does not stay a puddle. It sets up like any other concrete, and then it is a chipping and digging job. The stained dirt under it often has to go too.
With a washout ✓
- Slurry stays in one leak-proof spot
- Nothing runs to the gutter or storm drain
- A line you can point to in your SWPPP
- We haul the hardened concrete off
- The site is clean when the trucks leave
Without one ✗
- Slurry soaks into the dirt and hardens
- Rinse water heads for the gutter
- Chipping, digging and hauling after the pour
- An awkward talk with the GC or inspector
Small pour or big one, it is the same slurry. Only the size of the washout changes.
Four washouts, two kinds
Bubs runs 1.5 and 2.5 yard pans with a 7 by 7 foot footprint, plus 7 and 11 yard roll-offs. Pans fit tight and residential sites. Roll-offs handle bigger commercial pours. Rinse counts are estimates that depend on water use, chutes, the mix and the operator.
Footings, driveways, sidewalks and residential foundations. See washout pans
Commercial slabs, long pour days and big projects. See washout roll-offs
Rebar from a normal washout is fine. The $85 only shows up when a load runs heavy on rebar.
What happens to it with Bubs
Text us when it is full. We swap it or pull it, and the concrete goes to be crushed.
The Slurry Hardens in the Washout
The water dries off and the solids set up into one block of concrete. Nothing leaks out on the way.
Crushed Into Road Base
We haul the hardened concrete to a Utah crushing facility. It becomes road base. It is never landfilled.
Concrete washout questions, answered
Why do I need a concrete washout?
Is concrete washout water really that bad?
Where does a storm drain go in Utah?
Can I just rinse the chute onto the dirt and break it up later?
What is a concrete washout?
Is a concrete washout required on my site?
What is a SWPPP?
What goes in a concrete washout?
Which washout size do I need?
How fast can you get a washout to my site?
What happens to the concrete after pickup?
How much does a concrete washout cost?
Get your washout withone phone call
Call or text with the pour date and the address. Your quote is calculated for your exact address, travel included, so the number you get is the number you pay.
Mon to Sat, 6am to 6pm. Locally owned and independently operated. 10+ years across the Wasatch Front and Back.Tell us the pour date and the address. Not sure on size? Say so in the notes and we will pick it with you.