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1. What is pre-treatment?

The term "pretreatment" refers to pollutant removal, reduction or alteration from industrial or non-domestic wastewater onsite at the source before discharge to the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Non-domestic sources discharging wastewater to our POTWs must control their discharges and meet Town of Davie Local limits.

2. What is the difference between domestic waste and industrial waste?

Domestic wastewater is wastewater originating from activities such as restroom usage, washing, bathing, food preparation, and laundry. Industrial wastewater is process wastewater originating from manufacturing, commercial businesses, mining, agricultural production and processing, and wastewater from cleanup of petroleum and chemical contaminated sites, to name a few. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Agency (https://floridadep.gov/water/industrial-wastewater), all wastewater that is not defined as domestic wastewater is considered industrial wastewater. All industrial wastewater that discharges to a domestic wastewater or reclamation treatment facility, must be regulated under the Industrial Pretreatment Program.

3. What is not allowed to enter the sewer system either with or without a discharge permit?

No person, business, homeowner or entity, connected to the Town’s sever system, is allowed to introduce, or cause to be introduced, any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference to the treatment plant and or water bodies of State. A general list of the prohibition can be found in Town’s Sewer Ordinance (https://library.municode.com/fl/davie/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH25UT_ARTVIIISEUS). Examples include (but are not limited to):
•Flammable, explosive, corrosive, reactive or radioactive substances
•Infectious or medical wastes
•Toxic and noxious materials
•Solids or viscous materials which could obstruct or harm operations in the sewer collections system and the treatment plants

4. Which industries are regulated under the pretreatment program?

Any business, including industrial, commercial, institutional or governmental, that discharges any wastewater other than domestic wastewater may be subject to the requirements of the Industrial Pretreatment Program. To determine if your business should be regulated under the Industrial Pretreatment Program, please call us at 954–327–3742 for further information.

5. What is an industrial wastewater discharge permit?

If the Town or business determines that an industrial wastewater discharge permit is needed, such a permit will be issued by the Town after a pretreatment application is received and processed. Industrial discharge users may be required to install pretreatment facilities to treat their process waste prior to discharge to the Town’s sewer system in order to meet pretreatment standards. Permits will be specific based on waste classification, either a Categorical Industrial User (CIU) or Significant Industrial User (SIU), and amount of waste being discharged, to name a few. Permittees will be placed on a compliance schedule and must periodically sample and analyze their discharge to determine compliance, and report the results to the Town's Utilities Department. Permittees who fail to comply with pretreatment standards may be liable to enforcement actions, including monetary penalties and termination of sewer service.

6. What are the pretreatment local limits?

Local limits are developed to meet the pretreatment program objectives and site-specific needs of the POTW. The local limits are threshold values for a specific set of pollutants and are applicable to all industrial facilities that discharge to a POTW. The Town’s Local Limits