Fix this first: the authority's name
The body responsible for wastewater services in Abu Dhabi has been renamed twice:
- Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) — the historical name, still printed on older technical documents.
- Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions (ADSWS) — rebrand announced in May 2023.
- TAQA Water Solutions — the subsequent rebrand in 2024, within the TAQA group.
Why this matters on site: templates and cover letters copied from earlier projects address an entity under a name no longer in use, and point at a portal that may have moved. Confirm the current body and portal before assembling the package, not after it is returned. Note also that technical documents issued under the older name (such as the sewerage system design guideline) remain valid technical references until superseded.
The rule that governs every food facility
Connecting food facilities — catering establishments, butchers and meat factories — to the sewer requires grease elimination first. A grease trap is not an optional improvement; it is a condition of connection.
Where the authority determines that pre-treatment is required, an approved type of grease interceptor must be correctly sized and properly installed in the grease waste lines leading from sinks and drains. All three are checked together: the right trap on the wrong line is still non-compliant.
The decisive figure: efficiency above 80%
The technical guideline states that the minimum grease trap efficiency shall exceed 80% at all conditions of operation.
The phrase "at all conditions of operation" is the whole test: an efficiency quoted at a single nominal flow proves nothing. Post-service wash-up peaks, elevated water temperature that liquefies grease so it passes straight through, and part-load operation are all conditions under which the figure must hold.
And the proof is not a supplier declaration
Independent laboratory tests and engineering calculations certifying the interceptor's capacity and efficiency must be provided. The package therefore needs two documents, not one:
- A test certificate from an independent laboratory for the specific model.
- An engineering calculation tying the trap capacity to your facility's real load — covers served, number and type of sinks, and peak pattern.
The most common return: a supplier catalogue claiming "95% efficiency" with no independent laboratory certificate and no calculation connecting that model to your facility.
An obligation that does not end at installation: the cleaning cycle
The owner must establish a documented cleaning or pump-out routine for each grease removal device, and cleaning is typically required every one to three months depending on usage.
This is not an operational footnote but a handover item: tie it to the annual maintenance contract with a documented log from day one, because a missing log surfaces at the first inspection rather than at handover.
The correct working order
- Identify the current body and portal and the approval type your project needs (project NOC / connection permit).
- Classify the facility: is it a food facility requiring grease elimination? That answer sets the whole route.
- Calculate the load and trap capacity from the facility's real data, not a typical table.
- Select a model that holds an independent laboratory certificate matching your operating conditions.
- Position it on the correct lines — the grease waste lines from sinks and drains, not a combined line after mixing with other drainage.
- Provide maintenance and pump-out access on the drawing: truck route, cover opening and lifting space.
- Submit the package (test + calculations + drawing), then install and inspect.
- Start the cleaning log from the first day of operation.
Common rejections and their engineering fix
| Rejection cause | Engineering fix |
|---|---|
| Supplier-declared efficiency with no independent lab test | Attach an independent laboratory certificate for the specific model, not a marketing catalogue |
| Efficiency proven at one flow only | Demonstrate above 80% across operating conditions including wash-up peak and hot water |
| Capacity copied from an earlier project | Calculate it from your facility load: covers, sink count and peak pattern |
| Trap on a combined line after drainage has mixed | Relocate to the grease waste lines directly from sinks and drains |
| No tanker access or no lifting space for the cover | Prove the access route and clearances on the drawing, not in text |
| No documented cleaning plan | Put the cycle (one to three months by usage) into the maintenance contract with a log |
| Addressing the authority by its former name | Update the body name and portal before submitting |
What NOT to take from this guide
Deliberately absent here: any specific sizing formula, trap volume in litres, fee or statutory duration. Those come from the authority's sewerage design guideline and your project's own requirements. Substituting an assumed figure is exactly what gets an interceptor rejected after procurement. Obtain the guideline in force first.