Industrial Pretreatment
What is pretreatment?
The term "Pretreatment" refers to both:
- The treatment an industrial discharger often must provide to its wastewater before it is discharged to the City’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF).
- The EPA federally-mandated administrative program to regulate industrial wastewater that is discharged to the City's WRRF.
Why do we need pretreatment?
The City's recovery facility uses both physical and biological treatment processes. Certain caustic and/or acidic substances can cause extensive and costly damages to piping, pumps, and motors. However, the most common damage is that caused by wastes toxic to the delicately balanced biological treatment systems. Such damage can lead to virtually untreated wastes being discharged into Moadams Creek. With pretreatment, the industrial user is able to reduce, eliminate, or alter pollutants in the wastewater before it is introduced to the WRRF.
The administrative pretreatment program is designed to prevent industrial wastewater discharges from adversely affecting the City’s WRRF operations and/or its workers. The City of Mebane has both legal and moral obligations to assure that its wastewater is properly treated and that the resulting biosolids and effluent are safe for disposal or reuse. The health and economic welfare of the community are of the utmost importance to us. For this reason, the City of Mebane's Industrial Pretreatment Program is committed to protecting our water resources.