What is the purpose of a concrete washout?
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After concrete is poured at a construction site, the chutes of ready mixed concrete trucks, hoppers of concrete pump trucks, drums of concrete trucks as well as hand tools used for concrete must be washed out to remove the remaining concrete before it hardens. Since this is customarily done at the jobsite, concrete washout containers provide a place to safely washout out equipment and tools.
Why are quality concrete washouts important?
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Concrete washout water (or washwater) is a slurry containing toxic metals. It’s also caustic and corrosive. Washwater can run off the construction site to adjoining roads and enter roadside storm drains, which discharge to surface waters such as rivers, lakes, or estuaries. Leaking washwater will likely follow similar paths as nearby surface waters. Rainfall may cause concrete washout containers that are uncovered to overflow and also transport the washwater to surface waters. Rainwater polluted with concrete washwater can percolate down through the soil and alter the soil chemistry, inhibit plant growth, and contaminate the groundwater. Its high pH can increase the toxicity of other substances in the surface waters and soils.
