Industrial Pretreatment Program

The Ames Water Pollution Control (WPC) Facility is designed to treat typical domestic wastewaters, such as those generated by the average residential household. This wastewater typically contains low concentrations of chemicals and biologically-treatable wastes. Industrial wastewater often contains compounds or concentrations of pollutants that the Ames WPC Facility is not designed to treat. Facilities that generate industrial wastewater are sometimes required to pretreat their wastewater before they discharge it to the sanitary sewer system.

Implementation and administration of the Industrial Pretreatment Program is required by federal and state regulations and is enforced through local code and permitting. This program requires adequate treatment for industrial discharge to the municipal sanitary sewer system. Wastewater discharges from industrial contributors may include toxic or deleterious materials which may not be adequately treated in publicly-owned treatment works (POTW). These materials may pass through the POTW to the receiving streams and have adverse impacts on aquatic systems; may be removed by the POTW but cause problems with the ability to recycle or reclaim treated wastewater or biosolids; or may cause inhibitions to the treatment processes; or disrupt the treatment units to the extent that the facility is not able to properly treat wastewater.

This Industrial Pretreatment Program has the following objectives:

• To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will interfere with the treatment plant operations;
• To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into the receiving waters, the atmosphere, or otherwise be incompatible with the system;
• To protect both the general public and POTW personnel who may be affected by wastewater and biosolids in the course of their employment;
• To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and biosolids from the system;
• To enable the City to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit conditions, biosolids use and disposal requirements, and any other Federal or State laws to which the POTW is subject;
• To provide for fees for the equitable distribution for the cost of monitoring industrial discharges.

For a complete description of the Industrial Pretreatment Program, click here.(PDF, 2MB)

For more information or questions regarding the program, contact Environmental Specialist Dustin Albrecht by email at dustin.albrecht@cityofames.org or by phone at 515-239-5150.