Pretreatment

The best place to prevent pollution is at the source. Prevention practices keep pollutants out of the wastewater. Pretreatment can make wastewater safe to discharge to the sanitary sewers. Industrial wastewater and domestic wastewater are dramatically different, and they must be treated differently, as well.

Like most municipal wastewater service providers, the City of Irving wastewater treatment facilities and systems are designed and operated for urban, domestic wastewater. Industrial wastewater, however, may contain concentrations of metals or organics far above normal domestic wastewater. Even our advanced treatment systems are not designed to remove these contaminants.

Irving’s Industrial Pretreatment Program protects the city's wastewater collection system, treatment facilities and environment from uncontrolled toxic pollutants. Any facility that discharges nondomestic wastewater to our sanitary sewers must meet local effluent discharge limits. This includes commercial establishments, such as restaurants and car washes, as well as manufacturers, fabricators, blenders, and others.

City of Irving Resources

  1. EPA's National Pretreatment Program: 30 Years of Pretreatment (PDF)
  2. Introduction to Irving Pretreatment (PDF)
  3. Introduction to National Pretreatment Program (PDF)
  4. Local Effluent Discharge Limits (PDF)
  1. National Pollution Prevention Resource Guide (PDF)
  2. Pretreatment FAQs (PDF)
  3. Wastewater Discharge Permit Application (PDF)
  4. Wastewater Permit Application Instructions (PDF)