Industrial Waste Survey Modernization: How OC San Used Standardized Tele-Verification and Field Verification to Support Industrial User Identification
As part of its Industrial Waste Survey (IWS) modernization effort, the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) sought to improve the completeness and consistency of its inventory of potential industrial users within its service area. Using commercial business intelligence data available through ESRI Business Analyst, OC San developed a risk-based prioritization methodology to identify facilities that may warrant further evaluation under its Pretreatment Program.
To support this effort, OC San implemented a standardized tele-verification and field verification process to collect consistent, objective observations before assigning engineering and inspection resources. This initial screening process provides OC San inspectors and permit engineers with current business information and field observations to support informed decisions regarding IWS follow-up inspections and potential permitting actions.
Through a competitive procurement process, OC San contracted with iVueit to perform tele-verification and public right-of-way field verification for 300 high-priority candidate facilities. OC San retained responsibility for developing the prioritization methodology, establishing verification standards and scoring criteria, reviewing all verification results, and making all regulatory and permitting determinations. iVueit's role was to conduct standardized tele-verification, deploy a field verification network, document publicly observable field conditions, and deliver structured data for OC San's review.
The Challenge: Managing a Large Inventory of Potential Industrial Facilities
OC San's permit engineers and inspectors are responsible for evaluating industrial facilities for compliance with the Pretreatment Program. Before those technical evaluations can occur, OC San must first identify and verify businesses that may generate industrial wastewater.
Historically, this process relied heavily on business license records, planning notifications, field observations, and other manually compiled information. As the number of businesses within OC San's service area continues to grow, maintaining an accurate inventory of potential industrial users becomes increasingly resource-intensive.
OC San needed a scalable and repeatable approach to verify:
The Approach: Standardized Tele-Verification Followed by Field Verification
The project began with standardized tele-verification of the prioritized facility list. Using structured verification procedures, iVueit confirmed business identity, operational status, and business activity through telephone outreach and publicly available business information.
Following OC San's review of the tele-verification results, 294 facilities were selected for field verification.
iVueit then deployed a network of background-checked field contractors to conduct standardized field verification from the public right-of-way and document business identity and visible signage, address confirmation, operational status, observable industrial activity indicators, and geotagged photographs. Each facility was evaluated using OC San's standardized scoring methodology, providing consistent documentation for further review.
Each location was completed in less than 72 hours. The entire project was delivered in days, not weeks.
Verified
Turnaround
Confirmed
Within 24 Hrs
Results
The project provided OC San with standardized field observations for each verified location, giving staff a current understanding of business conditions before determining the need for additional follow-up.
Overall, the project supported OC San to:
- Narrowed the inspection list. With 88%+ of locations confirmed active and addressed, OC San's team could immediately exclude the non-industrial facilities — rather than visiting all 294.
- Provided inspectors with context. When internal staff did go into the field, they had photo evidence, activity indicators, and address confirmation upfront — reducing time spent gathering basic information on site.
- Saved time and money. By minimizing unnecessary field visits, OC San was able to optimize internal resources, allowing staff to focus on tasks that require specialized technical expertise.
- Made documentation easy to share. Simple photo links gave multiple stakeholders across the OC San team access to ground-level documentation without any technical friction.
- Proved the model holds at scale. The project demonstrated the feasibility of using standardized tele-verification and field verification to support future Industrial Waste Survey efforts.
Why This Matters
Maintaining an accurate inventory of potential industrial users is a challenge shared by many Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) operating under federally approved pretreatment programs.
OC San's approach demonstrates how commercial business intelligence, GIS technology, standardized tele-verification, and field verification can be integrated into a repeatable workflow. This approach enhances the review process for industrial wastewater permits and streamlines workflow efficiency.
Importantly, tele-verification and field verification represent only the initial screening stage of the process. Regulatory evaluations, inspection decisions, and permit determinations remain the responsibility of OC San.
What's Next
Building on the success of the initial project, OC San and iVueit have established a cost-effective, repeatable framework that may be adopted by POTWs, utility authorities, and permitting programs with similar large-scale screening and field documentation needs. If your organization manages industrial compliance, ownership verification, or field documentation at scale, this model may be directly applicable.
Lessons from this first phase are already being incorporated into future phases, including clearer location verification guidance, improved phone number source documentation, and more consistent organization of contact information. These refinements are intended to improve data consistency and data quality of future phases.
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