Wastewater Service
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in its role as approval authority, oversees the development and implementation of local pretreatment programs in the state.
About Pretreatment
Pretreatment is the removal, reduction, or alteration of pollutants in industrial wastewater prior to discharge or introduction into Fort Pierce’s Water Relcamation Facility (WRF). Metal finishing and related operations are a common source of industrial wastewater in Florida.
FPUA Requires Certain Industrial Users to Pretreat their wastewater prior to sending it to the WRF.
The goals of a pretreatment program are:
- To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the WRF that will cause interference with its operation;
- To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the WRF that will pass through the WRF, inadequately treated, into waters of the State;
- To provide protection for both public health and welfare and WRF workers; and
- To promote beneficial reuse and recycling of domestic wastewater and residuals from our WRF.
It is important to protect the bacteria and protozoa in the wastewater plant from harmful wastes so they can do their job of breaking down sewage. In addition to sampling and monitoring industrial wastewater, commercial areas may also be monitored for high-strength or toxic wastewater discharges. Some examples include restaurants for excessive grease discharges or printing/silk screen establishments for ink discharges. Excessive grease discharges may lead to sanitary sewer line blockages and cause sanitary sewer overflows. These overflows could release raw wastewater to the surrounding environment, possibly into lakes or streams. Another example of a commercial wastewater discharge could be ink discharges from a printing or silk screen establishment.
For more information, contact FPUA’s pretreatment coordinator at 772-466-1600, ext. 5517.
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