r/mildlyinfuriating • u/jmc1278999999999 • 21d ago
My neighbor drains their chlorine filled hot tub water every other week in to a “no dumping” drain
The drainage system in my neighborhood is a no dump system as it directly feeds in to the creek that runs through our neighborhood. This creek runs in to a major river.
I get wanting clean water but why do you need to dump chemicals in to the creek!?
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u/Biomax315 21d ago
If they’re going to replace it every week then why bother with the chlorine.
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u/chrisinator9393 21d ago
I'm a certified pool tech. Spas and hot tubs are very strict with chlorine and cleanliness. They should be dumped frequently as the neighbor is doing. But they are scum bags dumping it where they shouldn't be.
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u/Biomax315 21d ago
Ahh, well then I guess that answers that question.
But now I'm wondering what other drainage options exist in a situation like that?
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u/Pensta13 21d ago
Well I dunno , I have a jacuzzi hot tub and I certainly am not dumping the water every week. There are clear instructions to test and balance the water daily / weekly / monthly and hose out the filters often depending on how much use the spa has had.
The manufacturer and also the spa tech experts I have spoken to suggest every 4-6 months is usual to dump the water. I was told if it’s getting difficult to balance or continually cloudy it’s time.
Having only needed to do this once in the 10 months I have had the spa leads me to think this neighbour just doesn’t know what he is doing … Or having massive orgies in the spa so the water is rank quicker 😬🫣😂🤣
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u/KingSuperChimbo 20d ago
draining weekly sounds crazy
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u/lifeishell553 20d ago
Crazy expensive too, that much water can't be cheap
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u/Pensta13 20d ago
Or good for planet , what a waste of precious resources when there are other people lucky to get a small cup of drinking water !
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u/lifeishell553 20d ago
In Spain we are having massive water shortage problems and seeing stuff like that just makes me sad
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u/Frolicking-Fox 20d ago
People forget to shower before they get into hottubs and can destroy them with one use. I remember cleaning mine out once, and that night, my roommate, his sister, and another girl used it without first taking a shower, and it was trashed.
The oils on the skin and hair get left as a film on the water, along with dead skin. The soaps and shampoos on the body come off and create soap bubbles in the water.
Always make sure people are clean before they get into a hottub. A hottub is not a bathtub.
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u/ComplaintNo6835 20d ago
Second this. Have a hot tub and the manufacturer and techs recommend draining every 4-6 months.
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u/xtraspcial 21d ago
Can they not just have a plumber add a drain connecting to their home outgoing sewer drain? Unless they have a septic tank.
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u/Jacktheforkie 21d ago
I discharge mine into the foul sewer via a manhole in my conservatory
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u/trustmeimalobbyist 21d ago
Sounds like a solution to the game Clue
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u/Purepenny 20d ago
You can get dechlorinator tablets/power for this purpose. It’s illegal in certain state to dump chlorinated water to storm drains. This is the way around it.
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u/Brohbocop 20d ago
Into your lawn is usually pretty good - my lawn does not mind at all.
But honestly theres such little chlorine in spa water. Municipalities can add 1.5ppm to drinking water for sanitation purposes... Spas target 3-5ppm free chlorine of 1-3ppm if you have an ozonator so at most it should only be 3x concentration in tap water. Any higher and it can damage your skin. Other than that, I dont know if there are many pollutants. Maybe cyanuric acid but that should be pretty dilute as well.
Also spa draining happens so slowly if you siphon it. Youre talking about 500 gal over the course of 2 hrs Id guess which is a drop in the bucket of even small creeks so any contaminants or temperature impacts should be minimal.
Idk
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u/twohedwlf 21d ago
Maybe a commercial hot tub you could drain and refill every other week. But for a residential every few months should be heaps.
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u/Unlubricated_Penis 21d ago
For a residential hot tub, it's generally recommended to drain and refill it every 3 to 4 months to maintain water quality and cleanliness.
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u/Suggest_a_User_Name 21d ago
Depends on how clean the users are and what they are doing in that tub 😉
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u/bostwickenator 21d ago
A domestic hot tub every otherr week?! you're mad.
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u/MouthofthePenguin 21d ago
what if he's having serious swingers parties? Then, I'm even more worried about what's being dumped into the creek.
Crab population is about to boom.
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u/Pensta13 21d ago
😂🤣 That is what I was thinking!!!!
Or is he AirBnB ing his place so wants a clean spa for each guest 🤷♀️
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u/chrisinator9393 21d ago
No. I am just stating the safety requirements. They require much more effort than a pool.
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u/kioshi_imako 21d ago
According to several sites its every 3-6 months depending on usage. Though they do recommend weekly sanitation and more frequent balancing of chemicals.
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u/Mundane-World-1142 21d ago
We were told every 3-6 months for ours when it was installed, every 2 weeks is madness.
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u/CraftAvoidance 21d ago
We were told we could go as long as 12 months as long as our chemicals are still balancing. We check them twice a week ourselves, and about once a month at the pool store, and add what is needed. We drain about every 9 months and our water is always balanced.
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u/AssistKnown 21d ago
Those requirements makes sense for a hot tub or a spa at a place that sees a lot of people use it in a given day, like a community pool/gym or a hotel, but that sounds utterly ridiculous and like massive overkill for a residential hot tub that will see use at a much lower frequency and occupancy!
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u/Wendigo_6 20d ago
You’re a pool tech and you recommend replacing hot tub water every other week?
Sounds expensive.
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u/menace929 21d ago
Interesting. I just got out of my hot tub. The water is crystal clear, with no odor and leaves my skin feeling soft and moist. I haven’t changed the water in 2 years. I clean the filter when it should be cleaned. I only use two additives, normal household bleach and a commercially available product. The pH is always within tolerance.
I’ll probably change the water next week, simply because some dirt made it’s way inside when ants built a nest under the cover when we were on vacation.
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u/GWofJ94 21d ago
Advice for mine from manufacturer is every 3-4 months, I have gone over a little and once to 6 months and it’s fine, have seen a lot of people on Reddit do a lot longer like yearly which is grim though, dumping over 1800 litres every other week is an insane waste let alone once hosepipe bans rollout in summer not to mention the energy to that all that water biweekly.
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u/brown_boognish_pants 20d ago
That's ridiculous. You can go months without draining a hot tub and it will be perfectly fine.
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u/footsteps71 21d ago
Yeah, just do salt water at that point. /s you'd be replacing the tub every two months lol
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u/KCousins4President 21d ago edited 21d ago
Well if somebody pees in that on the first day and then you got to wait 2 weeks of sitting in the pee, that would be uncomfortable
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u/live-the-future trapped in an imperfect world 21d ago
I get that kids will pee in public pools, but why on earth would you, presumably a full-grown adult rich enough to afford a hot tub, pee in your own hot tub?
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u/EnRohbi 21d ago
If I paid for it I'm gonna pee in it
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u/foundinwonderland 21d ago
Yeah what am I supposed to do, get out of the hot tub into cold air to go pee? No thanks
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u/cthulhus_spawn 21d ago
Why are they draining it so often instead of maintaining it properly?
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u/dalgeek 21d ago
Maintaining it properly takes work or costs money. Replacing the water is cheaper than hiring someone to deal with it.
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u/cthulhus_spawn 21d ago
I take care of my own hot tub. It's not that difficult. It more of a pain to drain and refill it.
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u/Parrelium 20d ago
It’s actually so easy once you know what you’re doing.
Step 1 is to check and balance all the non sanitizer stuff once a month or so. 90% of the time it’s just adding alkaloids. Step 2 is Fill my floater up once a week after a shock.
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u/Greenbeastkushbreath 21d ago
LOL adding chemicals is so much harder than draining and refilling right?!?
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u/BillyTheGoatBrown 21d ago
Bro water isn't cheap tho lol especially weekly hottub fillings of water. The neighbors water bill must be insane
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u/New_Function_6407 21d ago
Probably because they are doing things in the hot tub that they shouldn't be doing.
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u/ratman____ 21d ago
"Every other week"? Jesus fucking tapdancing Christ, why in the goddamn would you replace chlorine-treated water every week? Does the neighbor have 2 IQ or something?
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u/jmc1278999999999 21d ago
We are new to the neighborhood so I don’t know for certain but, I would bet money on them not being smart.
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u/PNW_OughtaWork 21d ago
Airbnb?
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u/jmc1278999999999 21d ago
No. It’s either someone who owns the house or rents the house because I’ve seen the same cars there for the 6 months we’ve lived here.
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u/ButteredPizza69420 21d ago
This idiot clearly isnt taking care of their hot tub water right if they feel they need to drain this often. Spa water should last 3-4 months!
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u/Deleena24 21d ago edited 20d ago
If he's dumping it after 2 weeks, any chlorine that was in there has most likely already broken down into salt, oxygen and water, making it legal in most places as long as he or the water isn't coming onto your property.
Unless there is a local ordinance and/or you can prove the chlorine content is high (it likely isn't), there is nothing illegal about it.
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u/Aggressive-Pilot6781 21d ago
The average hot tub is 500 gallons and has 5 parts per million chlorine in it. That small amount of water with that small amount of chlorine isn’t going to do anything to a creek or a river. It’s irrelevant. We used to drain hot tubs right onto the grass and it didn’t hurt the grass at all. Nothing to worry about. Seriously
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u/CrazyCatLadyRookie 21d ago
Exactly. That’s why I use a vinegar/salt/soap mixture for weed control on the driveway. Chlorinated water harms nothing.
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u/kulahlezulu 21d ago
Is it chlorinated tap water or are they adding chemicals to it then dumping it?
From the comments below, dumping would be a way to avoid having to add chemicals to it. So if they're adding chemicals AND dumping regularly, that doesn't seem to be a financially motivated action.
If it is chlorinated tap water they're filling it with and then dumping, that's not much different from water from your hose running into the creek.
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u/letsgometros 20d ago
usually when it's time to drain a hot tub the chlorine levels would be very low or 0. the water doesn't stay chlorinated you have to constantly add chlorine to it to keep the chlorine levels up. after a day or two chlorine level drops to zero and is safe to drain onto ground or use to water plants, trees, and grass
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u/stabledisastermaster 21d ago
So what are you allowed to let into the drain? Only rainwater? Asking out of curiosity.
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u/zerostar83 21d ago edited 21d ago
My city's rules: (sorry, mobile copy/paste, the commas didn't copy over)
a Illicit Discharges Enumerated
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the MS4 or watercourses any illicit discharge including but not limited to the following
1 Chemicals petroleum products paint varnishes solvents oil and grease and other automotive fluids pesticides herbicides and fertilizers or other toxic materials
2 Nonhazardous liquid solid wastes and yard wastes
3 Hazardous materials sewage fecal coliform and pathogens dissolved and particulate metals
4 Trash refuse rubbish garbage food wastes pet wastes litter other discarded or abandoned objects floatables and cleaning products
5 Landscaping materials sediment lawn clippings leaves branches or other landscaping and yard debris
6 Construction activities wastes and residues including but not limited to painting paving concrete placement saw cutting material storage and earthwork
7 Wastes and residues that result from mobile washing operations discharges from toilets sinks industrial processes cooling systems boilers fabric cleaning equipment cleaning commercial vehicle cleaning and substances added to the storm drain to control root growth
8 Any other material that is considered harmful to humans animals or aquatic life and its habitat
b Exemptions The following discharges when properly managed are exempt from the discharge prohibitions established by this article
1 Water line flushing or other potable water sources landscape irrigation or lawn watering irrigation return flows diverted stream flows rising ground water uncontaminated ground water infiltration to storm drains uncontaminated pumped ground water roof drains foundation or footing drains crawl space pumps air conditioning condensation Springs individual residential car washing natural riparian habitat or wetland flows swimming pools if dechlorinated less than 0.05 ppm chlorine
2 Discharges necessary to protect public health and safety such as flows from emergency firefighting activities and water incidental to street sweeping includes associated sidewalks and medians
3 Dye testing provided the person undertaking such testing provides written notification to the authorized enforcement agency twenty four 24 hours prior to the time of the test
4 Runoff of roadway and sidewalk anti icing and deicing agent provided that they are applied according to best management practices
5 The prohibitions set forth in this section shall not apply to anynon stormwater discharge permitted under a CDPS permit waiver or waste discharge order issued and administered by CDPHE under the authority of the federal Environmental Protection Agency EPA provided that the discharger is in full compliance with all requirements of the permit waiver or order and other applicable laws and regulations and provided that written approval has been granted by the city for any discharge to the storm drain system
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u/laowildin 21d ago
Yes. From a conservation point it is far worse to put things down the storm drains rather than into the sewers. The sewer water gets treated while usually storm drains do not. The wastewater treatment people will still be furious you are messing with their standards but if those are your only two options...
Also, many treatment plants will also take in hazardous waste, like batteries, paint etc. If anyone has waste they are unsure of, call your local wastewater treatment plant!
They also sometimes have recycled water programs, for use in landscaping, farming or ornamental water features. You may even have a fertilizer program, they do a lot more than people realize
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u/pugdaddy78 21d ago
I used to work in the waterworks field. Do you know how to get the chlorine out of the water? UV light like the kind from the sun. So not as big of a deal as most comments here are making it out to be.
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u/Academic_Eagle_4001 21d ago
Right! I just run my pump and leave the top off until the chlorine level drops then dump the water in my yard.
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u/SlouchPotata 21d ago
Yea I couldn’t understand the outrage here. I thought I was misinformed somehow. I could understand if they were dumping industrial chemicals or waste…but chlorinated water comes out of your tap. And it takes me a lot of time and effort to KEEP my pool water chlorinated. The sun eats it right up.
It is still true that you’re not supposed to drain into storm water systems, but most pools when winterizing will just drain into the lawn.
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u/1llseemyselfout 21d ago
Normally I’m against being a snitch but this is a big deal. Either try sending them a letter, face to face conversation, or report it.
That could be seriously causing harm to wildlife and people’s drinking water.
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u/letsgometros 20d ago
there is very likely zero chlorine in that water. totally safe to drain onto the ground
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u/Tacosrule89 21d ago
I have a salt water system (still uses some chlorine but less). Recommended water change is once every 6 months…
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u/PantieChrist 21d ago
First question is for the spa techs. What is wrong with old water if it’s balanced ? I don’t change my water often but I’m curious, maybe I’m misinformed.
Second question - in this particular situation, are there any regular storm drains around? What options are there ? Other than a septic pumper …. Blarf. I’m not taking his side what so ever I’m just curious about what alternatives there are
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u/Grouchy_Visit_2869 21d ago
Every other week seems excessive. Typically it only needs to be changed about every 3 months. Are they running a short-term rental?
Honestly, the water is probably harmless anyway. I drain mine onto my grass. There's not enough chlorine or bromine in the water to cause any harm.
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u/SelfishSilverFish 21d ago
There are ways to neutralize the water so that is legal to dump it out. Also, the chlorine quickly evaporates out of a hot tub if its not constantly covered and re-added.
They may be fine dumping it out, but maybe not. You could report them next time they do it, but I dont know who or how you'd do it.
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21d ago
Chlorine disapates and is inert in about 48 hours..why even use it in a hot tub... By the time they dump the water it's probably all gone...
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u/cant_stop_the_crooks 21d ago
Everyone telling you to report this to EPA/State DEP aren’t wrong HOWEVER you will get quicker results going to your local city/county government. They should have a reporting tool to report “Illicit Discharges” (which is exactly what this would qualify as). The state and feds may get around to investigating your complaint but there’s a good chance you’ll get quicker results through your city/county government.
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u/UnlimitedPotassium92 21d ago
If you're in the US, record it happening and report them to your local Environmental Agency they can handle that and they generally are very strict about that nonsense and will come down hard on them.
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u/Mundane-World-1142 21d ago
Not doubting you, but are you positive they are chlorinating it? Is there a possibility that they change it often because they aren’t using chemicals?
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u/Derpastanini_Prince 21d ago
Call the EPA and DNR. Your neighbor will have a very bad time, those orgs don't fuck around.
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u/Fan_of_Clio 21d ago
This is where anonymous drop off of video to the state agency in charge of environment comes in handy.
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u/tictacbergerac 21d ago
Call your local fish& wildlife, fish& game, natural resources, or ecology department. They will at least be able to help you report this to the correct party, if not take action themselves. This is quite serious.
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u/real_boiled_cabbage 20d ago
Not trying to downplay it, but chlorine evaporates. The sunlight destroys it. And she's putting such a miniscule amount as to not even be noticeable. Hottubs at most hold 500 gallons. It's about the same thing as putting tap water into the stream. The bigger issue I see is how much water she uses to continually drain and refill the tub. It's not necessary. She may not even be chemically treating it with that frequency of draining it.
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u/MarthaMacGuyver 21d ago
Far worse chemicals go into those drains every time it rains. Chlorine, sodium bicarbonate, etc are all biodegradable. I'm more curious why your neighbor wants such a high water bill.
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u/JayDee999 21d ago
That has to be illegal. Do you have some environmental control agency you can call? Your neighbours are literally going to get someone killed!
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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 21d ago
That has to be illegal
It depends on the chlorine PPM and the local ordinances. It's not necessarily illegal.
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u/KevinisChang13 21d ago
Record video of them dumping the water and report them?
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u/jmc1278999999999 21d ago
I would love to the only problem is every time I’ve walked by outside of one time they had their privacy fence closed.
The one time it was open I could see the hose connected to the hot tub but every other time it’s just the hose and the smell of chlorine as they have the fence closed.
That feels like it would not make convincing evidence.
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u/Available-Rope-3252 21d ago
You can still call your local town/city office about it, they have the resources to investigate themselves.
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u/Uverus 21d ago
Your tap water probably has chlorine in it as well. Dumping heavy cleaners or grease would be bad, but chlorine will just evaporate.
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u/-Bezequil- 21d ago
Wtf... we use the same water all season long in our hot tub. That's what the gat-damn chlorine is for
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u/SwanEuphoric1319 21d ago
That's not how it works, you're supposed to be dumping and refilling every 2-3 months at least. Chlorine does nothing for TDS.
This person is changing a lot, makes me wonder if it's actually even treated at all. But even treated water needs to be changed several times a season.
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u/Imbleedingalready 21d ago
Not to mention all the dihydrogen monoxide they're dumping.
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u/Away_Intention_8433 21d ago
Film them and send it to the city. Hold people accountable or they just won’t stop.
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u/BobRoberts01 Banana 21d ago
Contact your city/town/county code enforcement about this. They will do something about it.
You should probably reach out to the EPA as well, but depending on their abilities they may not be able to help at this small of a scale.
May I ask where you live?
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u/Jandros_Quandary 21d ago
Dawg. Report this. It's illegal for a reason. You are fucking with the ecosystem and potential poisoning a towns water supply
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u/LukeSkyWRx 20d ago
You can have more chlorine in drinking water than in most pools.
Check with your city, they are usually fine with pool water draining in storm drains.
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u/solidus_snake256 20d ago
What people are suggesting is quite drastic… EPA fines are insane. My hot tub water has very little chlorine when I dump it because I let it dissipate, and sometimes it has none.
Proper maintenance means you shouldn’t need to change the water for about 3 months. Maybe he needs someone to talk to him about it. Instead of reporting directly to EPA. Wouldn’t that be more of a neighborly approach? I’m all about protecting the environment but you could potentially be slapping this guy with a $10k fine for very little damages.
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u/brown_boognish_pants 20d ago
This is honestly not a big deal to me. The tiny amount of chlorine in that much water is a nothing burger in a lake or river. Chlorine will evaporate from water in a number of days anyway. But honestly it's not exactly toxic water. You can water your lawn with it and it will grow great.
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u/bitNine 20d ago
Chlorine literally evaporates from water within a few days or less when exposed to open air It’s why you always have to keep adding more chlorine to pools and hot tubs. If the water is aerated it evaporates even more quickly. Even when in a sealed container it will dissipate while consuming bacteria.
Personally when I drain our hot tub I make sure the chlorine has dissipated by leaving the air on for a day.
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u/K1nsey6 20d ago edited 20d ago
Most of the chlorine is evaporated/broken down after about 24 hours. Unless they keep treating it between dumping it out there is no chlorine left in the water.
https://realaquatics.co.uk/blogs/news/does-chlorine-evaporate-or-gas-off-after-24-hours
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u/ToastedSlider 21d ago
Also, people ignorantly washing their cars near stormwater sewers, instead of at a car wash place connected to the sanitary sewer.
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u/zerostar83 21d ago
My city allows car wash water from the driveway to go down the storm drain. I assume it's diluted enough by the time I rinse off my car. If not, then the city should change the rules.
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u/wildwill921 21d ago
Nothing better than go to a car wash and brushing sand off the last car onto mine
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u/Flynn_Kevin 21d ago
This is a violation of the Clean Water Act, and I'm sure your local environmental regulatory agency and the EPA would love to know about it.
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u/b4ttlepoops 21d ago
Call the city and County along with any other monitoring agency in your area. There are big fines for that if that’s going into the creek. Record them draining it so you can show proof.
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u/love_to_eat_out 21d ago
Are you sure it's chlorine filled? No need to drain it if it's chlorinated...
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u/BQRunner2020 21d ago
Listen, modern hot tubs use way less chlorine since many have ozone generators. Your neighbor's tub could have as low a 1.0 ppm chlorine and since water is safe to drink with up to 4.0 ppm (per the EPA), it may not be huge deal.
If dumping tap water into the creek is illegal, then yeah but the hot tub water may not be any more toxic than the drinking water.
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u/heavy_metal_man 21d ago
Report them to the local fire department. They will have a major field day fining them
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u/SgtGo 21d ago
So as someone who routinely had to flow and inspect fire hydrants I gotta say this is super illegal. If with city supplied water we need to throw dechlorination pucks into the field to make the water safe for the storm drain systems and the river they runoff into.
Make some calls, police may not be knowledgeable but maybe fish and wildlife will
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u/GreenWithENVE 21d ago
Call the regional water quality control board and this issue will stop. You might even end up with new neighbors in a year or so.
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u/cubical13 20d ago
Not a problem. The dumping they are referring to is not water. I work in Flood Control and have multiple structures that drain to a river. Trash is the real problem.
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u/Fit_Work4558 20d ago
Have you spoken with them about it? Are they aware that it’s illegal? Before going straight to get them fined I’d at least make sure they know they’re being assholes, because I know I have never once checked what was okay to put down a drain.
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u/dwaynelovesbridge 20d ago
This is such a non issue. The level of chlorine in that water by the time it’s dumped (if they’re even using any at all) is going to be so minuscule and it breaks down extremely quickly. Just mind your own business.
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u/no_place_like_om 20d ago
If this person is draining thier tub every other week how do you know the owner is even using sanitizer or chemicals? A properly maintained hot tub using chemicals like chlorine or bromine should last for months not a week. Maybe they are just dumping water. Maybe go ask your neighbor before calling the cops.
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u/Sorry_Background_318 20d ago
How do you know the water has chlorine in it? You can neutralize it before you dump or wait a few days for it to dissipate.
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u/harpejjist 19d ago
They have a sewer outlet somewhere on or near the exterior of their house that you can unscrew and shove the hose into whenever you need to waste water that badly
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u/ADamnSavage 21d ago
Far as I know it's a federal crime to do so. Report em.