In Fort Worth, every food service establishment must install a permitted grease interceptor before discharging wastewater to the sewer, have it pumped 100% at least once every 90 days, and keep disposal records on site for five years. The program is run by Fort Worth Water's Pretreatment Services Division under City Code Chapter 12.5, and violations can carry penalties of up to $2,000 per day.
Yes. Under Fort Worth's Pretreatment Program, all food service establishments, including restaurants, bakeries, delis, and convenience stores with food prep, must install oil and grease interceptor equipment and obtain a Restaurant Wastewater Discharge Permit before sending any wastewater to the sanitary sewer. The requirement is set out in City Code Chapter 12.5, Article VII, and is administered by the Fort Worth Water Pretreatment Services Division.
Every grease-bearing fixture has to route through the interceptor. That includes three-compartment and pot sinks, pre-rinse and dishwasher lines, mop sinks, and floor drains in the kitchen and dish areas.
Fort Worth points most restaurants toward a large in-ground or exterior interceptor rather than a small under-sink trap. The city's published sizing guidance sets these limits:
| Requirement | Fort Worth standard |
|---|---|
| Recommended minimum | 750 gallons for restaurant applications |
| Absolute minimum (exterior) | 500 gallons (nothing smaller accepted) |
| Maximum required size | 4,000 gallons |
| With a garbage disposal | Twice the standard calculated size |
Exact sizing is based on your fixtures and operational data, so confirm the calculation with your plumber and the Pretreatment Division before you buy. Our team handles both the grease trap sizing and installation and the permit paperwork.
Fort Worth uses a 90-day, full pump-out rule. Your interceptor must be 100% pumped out at least once every 90 days, and more often if it fills faster than that. This is stricter and simpler than the "25% rule" used in some other jurisdictions: Fort Worth does not let you wait until the trap is a quarter full, it wants the whole trap emptied on schedule.
High-volume kitchens with fryers often need pumping more frequently. If your lines still back up between pump-outs, that is usually a sign the trap is undersized or the branch lines need hydro jetting.
Each pump-out is documented on a City-issued Liquid Waste Trip Ticket carried by your licensed grease hauler. The final copy from the disposal company must be kept on site for five years and be available for inspection by Pretreatment or Health Department staff. Only a City-permitted liquid-waste transporter may pump and haul your grease.
Failing to maintain the trap, or using an unpermitted hauler, can subject a business to penalties of up to $2,000 per violation, per day. Beyond the fines, a neglected trap leads to grease-clogged lines, sewage backups into the kitchen, failed health inspections, and forced closures during your busiest hours. The compliance cost is almost always smaller than one emergency backup.
We handle interceptor sizing, installation, and a pumping schedule that keeps you compliant and backup-free.
Fort Worth's sizing guidance pushes most food service establishments toward a large exterior, in-ground grease interceptor rather than a small under-sink hydromechanical trap. The reason is capacity: a full-service kitchen produces far more fats, oils, and grease (FOG) than a compact indoor trap can hold between cleanings, and an undersized unit simply passes grease downstream into your building drain and the city sewer. An exterior interceptor of 500 gallons or more gives the wastewater time to cool so grease can separate and float, solids can settle, and only clarified water leaves the tank. Coffee shops, convenience stores, and very small operations sometimes qualify for a smaller indoor unit, but that determination is based on your fixtures and operational data, so confirm it with the Pretreatment Division before buying anything.
Additives, enzymes, and bacterial treatments are marketed as a way to cut down on pumping, and they are one of the most common questions we get from restaurant managers. The honest answer is that they do not remove your obligation to pump. Many products emulsify grease so it stays suspended in the water long enough to flow past the trap, which can actually move the problem downstream into the city sewer and put you out of compliance. Fort Worth's requirement is a full physical pump-out on schedule, not a chemical treatment, and no additive changes that. If a product keeps odors down between services, fine, but treat it as a supplement to pumping, never a replacement.
When the city reviews a food service establishment, the questions are practical. Is there a permitted interceptor of adequate size, and is every grease-bearing fixture actually plumbed through it? Are pump-out records on site, complete, and within the 90-day window? Was the waste hauled by a City-permitted transporter on a valid trip ticket? Inspectors also look for signs that the trap is overloaded, such as grease carryover past the outlet, and for bypass plumbing that routes a sink around the interceptor. The fastest way to fail is a missing or expired record, so the paperwork matters as much as the hardware.
Most grease violations are not deliberate. They happen when the manager who scheduled the pumping leaves and nobody inherits the calendar. The fix is to make compliance a system rather than a person. Put the 90-day pump-out on a recurring schedule with your hauler, keep the trip tickets in one labeled binder or a shared drive that any manager can find, and tie a quick visual check of the trap into your existing weekly walkthrough. A preventative maintenance agreement that bundles the grease trap with your other commercial plumbing takes the scheduling off your plate entirely, which is why multi-location operators tend to move to one. Pairing on-time pumping with periodic hydro jetting of the kitchen branch lines is what actually keeps the drains flowing between services.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change, so confirm current requirements with Fort Worth Water Pretreatment at (817) 392-8305 before you act.
We handle the interceptor, the permit paperwork, and a pumping schedule that keeps you compliant.