One facility. Several different limits.
The number beside a plant name is not enough. The comparison belongs to one specific source observation.
For Case Farms of Ohio, permit OH0005487, the August 2026 BOD series at outfall 001 contains concentration and mass-per-day observations. It also distinguishes a monthly average from a daily maximum. Those are four separate rows, each with its own displayed limit.
Monthly-average concentration: 2.5 mg/L, limit 6.25 mg/L.
Daily-maximum concentration: 4 mg/L, limit 9.58 mg/L.
Monthly-average mass: 10 kg/d, limit 28.4 kg/d.
Daily-maximum mass: 15 kg/d, limit 43.6 kg/d.
All four observations are below their respective displayed limits.
A high value can describe incoming water
At Cooper Farms Cooked Meats, outfall 601 contains a separate series labelled “Raw Sewage Influent.” Its August monthly-average BOD is 870 mg/L. The source supplies no numeric limit for that row. Comparing 870 to the effluent limit at outfall 002 would join two different monitoring contexts and invent an exceedance.
The workspace keeps monitoring location visible beside the selected series. If no numeric limit exists, the evidence table says so. The absence of a limit does not justify assigning a limit from another row, and raw-influent values do not describe the quality of discharged effluent.
Keep the comparison key intact
An observation is identified by permit, outfall, parameter, monitoring location, statistical basis, units and period. A monthly average cannot be compared to a daily maximum. A mass-per-day measurement cannot be compared directly to a concentration. Qualifiers such as “less than” must also remain attached to values.
Effluent Watch reports a simple comparison only when the source row supplies comparable numeric values and a supported qualifier. Even then, “outside displayed limit” is an account-review prompt, not an independent legal finding. Source event flags are kept separately rather than inferred from a plant-wide status.
Use the exact row as evidence
The CSV and report export preserve the selected series and its source link. Save a note about what requires verification instead of treating a chart alone as evidence of purchase intent. This is particularly important when different permits or monitoring points belong to the same business.
Sources: EPA Case Farms record and EPA Cooper Farms record, checked 6 October 2026. Records may be corrected later.
Inspect the selected series