Mesa's Grease Rules Put It on the Owner
Most food service businesses built in Mesa are required to have a grease removal device: a large interceptor outside or a small grease trap inside. The City of Mesa makes the owner responsible for keeping it working, at all times (City Code Title 8, Chapter 4).
When an interceptor isn't cleaned on schedule, Mesa's Water Resources department says grease gets past it and builds up on the pipe walls, causing blockages and bad smells for the business and the city sewer downstream.
That buildup is what hydro jetting removes.
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Homes Served across Mesa & East Valley
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Commercial Jobs — restaurants, offices, retail
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Years Experience — licensed & insured
Interceptor Pump-Out vs. Line Jetting
They're two different jobs, and most kitchens need both:
- Pumping the interceptor: Mesa recommends pumping out the whole device, contents and leftover waste, with someone from your business watching. That's your licensed grease hauler's job.
- Jetting the lines: high-pressure water scours grease, sludge and scale from the pipes between your sinks and the interceptor, and from the interceptor out to the street. Snaking punches a hole through a grease clog; jetting cleans the whole pipe wall.
- Camera first: we look inside the line to find the problem and pick the right pressure for the pipe.
Whose Pipe Is It: You or the City?
In Mesa, the sewer main in the street belongs to the city. The connection and the service line from your building are yours, and so is everything inside.
Sewage coming up from a manhole or out into the street? Call the City of Mesa's utility emergency line, 480-644-2262. Backing up inside your building or in your own line? That's us.
Keep Grease Out of the Line
Mesa's own advice for kitchens, which also means fewer emergency calls:
- Scrape plates, pots and pans into the trash before washing.
- Set a regular cleaning schedule for your interceptor or trap with your service company. Heavier loads can mean more frequent cleaning.
- Keep maintenance and service records on site for at least three years.
- Don't let the hauler pour wastewater from the truck back into the device or the sewer.
- Don't pour drain-opening chemicals down a clogged line. Call a plumber.
Questions about Mesa's requirements go to the city's Industrial Pretreatment section, 480-644-2484. Not a restaurant? Jetting also clears main lines in offices, shops, and apartment and HOA buildings. See hydro jetting and sewer line repair in Mesa. Calls are answered 24/7.