Pretreatment Program
This is a Federal and State mandated program that was established to prevent three actions from happening; wastewater treatment interference, sludge contamination, and pass through of toxic materials into our surface water source. This is a very regulatory stringent program that uses monitoring and inspections practices to prevent the introduction of materials into the sewer system from affecting our environment in the three methods described.
Cross Connection Control Program
This program provides for the protection of our treated water from contamination from the homes, and businesses we provide water too. Although the water distribution system is pressurized to flow into homes and businesses, situations can occur that will reverse flow and under the right circumstances contaminate our treated water. This program provides control and prevention of these potential cross connections by employing a program to certify all at risk connections are installed with the proper backflow devices and that these devices stay properly in service. Currently there are approximately 2000 backflow devices installed around the city.
Effluent Re-use
Beneficial reuse of the areas resources especially water is a high priority for this department. Not only does the user of treated wastewater benefit from reduced water consumption and therefore reduced cost, but the community as a whole saves valuable water that is not being used to irrigate large areas, and the cost of increasing our treatment plants capacity can be delayed. Currently this division reuses its treated wastewater effluent for beneficial practices. All wastewater plants are irrigated for landscape with treated effluent. In addition, supplying this water to the Laredo Country Club and Casa Blanca golf courses for their irrigation needs reuses approximately 1 million gallons per day of treated effluent.
Beneficial use of Sludge
The Department is in the planning stages to provide for extended treatment of sludge for the purpose of beneficially using this resource for landscape and agricultural purposes. The Utilities Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants currently dispose of approximately 25,000 dry tons of sludge per year. The prevention of this disposal by applying to crops and landscape can beneficially save space, time, and therefore money in landfill operations and the development of a new landfill.