Publicly owned treatment works explained
A publicly owned treatment works (POTW) is a term used in the United States for a sewage treatment plant owned, and usually operated, by a government agency. In the U.S., POTWs are typically owned by local government agencies, and are usually designed to treat domestic sewage and not industrial wastewater.
The term is used extensively in U.S. water pollution law (i.e. the Clean Water Act), regulations and programs.[1] [2] Many POTWs were established or expanded with grants or low-interest loans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).[3]
There are over 16,000 POTWs in the U.S., serving 75 percent of the total population.[4] The remainder of the population is served by decentralized or private septic systems. The POTWs treat 32e9USgal of wastewater every day.[5] Most POTWs are required to meet national secondary treatment standards.[6] [7]
See also
Notes and References
- United States. Clean Water Act (CWA), Titles II and VI., .
- Web site: National Pretreatment Program . . 2019-11-05 . National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . Washington, D.C..
- Copeland . Claudia . 2016-10-18 . Clean Water Act: A Summary of the Law . . Washington, D.C. . 4–5 . RL30030.
- Web site: Water and Wastewater Systems Sector . . 2016-01-08 . Critical Infrastructure Sectors . U.S. Department of Homeland Security . Washington, D.C..
- Web site: Basic Information about Water Security . . 2014-02-11 . Water Security . EPA . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906005124/http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/basicinformation.cfm . 2015-09-06.
- CWA sec. 304(d)(1), and "Secondary Treatment Regulation", Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 133.
- Web site: Secondary Treatment Standards . . 2016-11-01 . National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System . EPA.
