The City regulates all local industries which discharge pollutants into the sanitary sewer that may cause any interference or damage to the municipal sewage conveyance and treatment system, or cause the City's sewage treatment plant to violate its NPDES Permit limitations.

These requirements place the City in the position of being a service provider and a regulator. The Wichita Water Utilities strives to perform both duties well, by providing excellent water and sewer service to its customers and by enforcing all Pretreatment Regulations in a fair and equitable manner.

To determine if your industrial process will be regulated by the City, first determine if the industry qualifies as a Significant Industrial User. If the industry meets the SIU criteria, then it must be issued an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit by the City. The Permit will contain conditions and requirements the industry must meet to maintain compliance with all Federal, State, and local Pretreatment Regulations.

General SIU criteria is as follows:

• The industry discharges at least 25,000 gallons per day of wastewater to the sanitary sewer.

• The industrial process is identified as one of the Federal Pretreatment Categorical Industries. For a list of categorical industries, contact the Pretreatment Office at (316) 303-8703.

• The industry discharges a pollutant which could cause interference or damage to the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) or negatively impacts the receiving waters upon discharge or sewage sludge disposal requirements.

• The industry discharges a wastestream which the Director of the Water & Sewer Department has reasonably determined requires issuance of an Industrial Wastewater Permit to Discharge.

All SIUs permitted by the City are subject to a permit fee which is based on the industrial wastewater daily flowrates. Your best course of action is to contact the City's Pretreatment Office at (316) 303-8703 and let them help you evaluate your need for a permit.

Extra Strength Sewage Billing Program

In addition to the Pretreatment Regulations, the City also has a sewage surcharge program called the Extra Strength Program. If the industry discharges waste which contains high concentrations of treatable pollutants, then the industry is sampled and billed on a monthly basis for the treatment of this "extra strength" waste. This assures that the treatment and disposal costs associated with wastewater with conventional pollutant concentrations higher than residential wastes, will be paid for by the industry rather than the residential customer. Conventional Pollutants billed by the Water and Sewer Department are:

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand
• Total Suspended Solids
• Oil and Grease

These are current inside the City rates and are assessed per pound per month based on the volume discharged and the analytical results of the samples collected during the monthly billing cycle. Outside the City rates are approximately 55% higher.

Sewer Service Usage and Billing

Your monthly sewer usage charge is based on the amount of City water consumed during the billing cycle. However, if the industry supplements its City water usage with well water and discharges the total to the sewer, then the industry must either meter the well water consumed or install a totalizing meter at the point of wastewater discharge into the City sewage collection system.

Many industries discharge less water than what is consumed, as a result of water going out in the product (e.g. commercial bakeries, soft drink manufacturers, concrete companies), or water evaporated during operations (e.g. boilers, cooling towers). In order to receive credit on the sewer bill, the industry must request that the City install a meter at the water which is not being discharged or request that the City install a meter a the point of wastewater discharge into the City sanitary sewer.

Please contact the Pretreatment staff at (316) 303-8703 for meter installation information. Meter readings are read by the Wichita Water Utilities on a monthly basis for billing purposes.

Grease Trap Requirements

In September, 1994, City Council adopted an Ordinance Amendment requiring grease interceptor installations in food establishment sewer discharge lines. The approved ordinance requirements include:

1. All new food service establishments must install an interceptor prior to connecting to the sanitary sewer system.

2. Implementation of a grease interceptor inspection and maintenance program.

3. Existing restaurants without an approved grease interceptor must pay a monthly fee to recover grease removal costs incurred by the City. If it is found that an existing facility causes significant grease discharges, the facility is required to install, operate and maintain an approved grease interceptor.

Ordinance Information

If you have any questions regarding the any of these programs, or would like to view the City Ordinances which pertain to the programs, please use the online code, look up City Code Section 16.24 for ordinances pertaining to these programs.

Remedial Groundwater Discharge Program

Some facilities have contaminated groundwater which must be treated and discharged. The City prefers that these businesses seek other alternatives than the sanitary sewer to discharge the groundwater. However, as a temporary measure, the City may accept the treated groundwater if it meets Pretreatment Discharge Standards and capacity is available in the sanitary sewer. The discharge period is limited to a maximum five year term with annual permit renewals required. The business is required to monitor the discharge to assure that it meets pretreatment requirements. For Permit monitoring and fee requirements, contact the Pretreatment Office.

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