Pretreatment

Regulation

The federal Clean Water Act and the Virginia State Water Control Law require wastewater treatment facilities with a total design flow greater than 5 million gallons per day (MGD) and receiving wastewater pollutants from industrial Users which could pass through or interfere with the operation of the treatment facility to establish a Pretreatment Program.  Hopewell Water Renewal is approved to operate such a program.

Water Renewal Pretreatment Program

In Chapter 31 of the City code, City Council sets out the requirements of the Hopewell Water renewal pretreatment program.  This ordinance sets the policies for the administration and operation of Hopewell Water Renewal to assure that the facilities are used in the common interest of the public.  Uniform requirements are established for direct and indirect dischargers of pollutants from non-domestic sources to enable the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations including the Clean Water Act, the Federal General Pretreatment Regulations, the State Water Control Law, and the Virginia Pretreatment Program regulations.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the pretreatment program are:

  • To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the treatment system that will interfere with its operation;
  • To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the treatment system that will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere, or otherwise be incompatible with the system
  • To ensure that the quality of the wastewater treatment plant sludge is maintained at a level that allows it to be disposed of in accordance with the management plan adopted by Hopewell Water Renewal
  • To protect both municipal personnel who may come in contact with wastewaters, sludge and the treated effluents in the course of their employment, and the general public
  • To preserve the hydraulic capacity of the treatment system
  • To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludge from the system
  • To provide for equitable distribution of the costs of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the treatment system
  • To ensure that the city of Hopewell complies with its Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal, state, or local laws and regulations that affect Hopewell Water Renewal

Industrial discharges are evaluated through periodic sampling and analyses and are issued permits that contain limitations to ensure that the objectives of the ordinance are met.  Hopewell Water Renewal’s Environmental Compliance Coordinator oversees the program and monitors the compliance of the industrial user. 

Contact Us

For more information on the program or how it might be applied to your industrial discharge, contact Christina Wilkerson, Environmental Compliance Coordinator, at 804-541-2214.