Pretreatment Program

The Carmel Area Wastewater District operates a Pretreatment Program defined through the CAWD Sanitary Sewer Management Program.. The Pretreatment Program was developed to protect the environment, the health and safety of the public and agency employees. This program also protects the operation of the wastewater treatment plant, the wastewater collection system, the quality of biosolids generated from the wastewater treatment process, and to reduce costs associated with the treatment of these pollutants. This is done through the enforcement of regulations that limit the type and amount of pollutants businesses can discharge to the sewer.

Components of the Pretreatment Program:

Permits

Waste Discharge Permits are issued to certain types of businesses with the potential to discharge toxic  pollutants. The permit includes wastewater discharge limits, and monitoring and reporting requirements, as well as other permit conditions.  New businesses are required to submit application and plans to CAWD District Engineer for plan review and any connection fees to be paid.  Current business owners/ restaurants will be required to submit an updated Discharge Permit Application of current contact information and changes to restaurant practices.

Inspections

Permitted industries are routinely inspected to see if there have been any operational changes and to determine compliance with permit conditions. A typical inspection includes viewing grease trap equipment, pretreatment systems, chemicals used, and reviewing documentation such as waste manifests, pretreatment operation and maintenance logs.

Enforcement

Permit violations may be identified during inspections or by reviewing monitoring data. Enforcement actions may include issuing a Notice of Violation, fines, requiring the installation of pretreatment equipment.