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Ever wonder what happens to water when it's flushed down the toilet
or goes down the drain?
In Hillsborough County, that water ends up at one of several wastewater
treatment plants where it is cleaned for reuse or prepared for discharge
back into the environment. Regardless its final destination, water leaving
the County's wastewater treatment plants must meet rigid federal guidelines
for disinfection.
To help ensure that water coming out of Hillsborough County's plants is
safe, the County must monitor what goes in. That's where the Industrial
Pretreatment Program comes into play. This program is designed to make sure
that wastewater coming into county plants primarily carries with it typical
"domestic-type" contaminants by providing guidelines to sewer users
(residential, commercial and industrial customers) of what can or can not
be discharged to the sewer system. For example, toilet waste, shower water,
kitchen materials and so on.
Industrial pretreatment began as part of the Federal Clean Water Act in the
mid-1970s as a way to help protect domestic wastewater facilities from the
discharge of toxic pollutants from industries, maintain the quality of
residuals for economic disposal and to protect worker and public health
and safety.
In Hillsborough County, industrial pretreatment is regulated through County
Ordinance 99-12. This law applies to all customers connected to the county's
sewer system and allows for only the disposal of domestic-strength wastewater.
Customers who need to dispose of wastes other than domestic are required to
contact the pretreatment program to verify that disposing of a product to the
sewer system is acceptable. This is done not only to help make sure the sewer
system stays in good working order, but also to protect the health of humans
and the environment.
For more information on safe sewer practices, call Pretreatment Program staff
at 272-5977.
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