Industrial Waste Facility

Pond at industrial waste site

The Industrial Waste Treatment Facility provides an economical and environmentally acceptable means of water treatment and disposal of process water from local agricultural industries and others with process water requirements.

The City of Salinas operates a unique Industrial Wastewater Sewer Treatment System. While most municipalities only maintain a Storm Sewer and a Sanitary Sewer System, Salinas maintains a third collection system for a service area on the southern end of the City. The Industrial Wastewater Sewer receives Industrial Wastewater discharges from 24 industrial users via permitted connections and conveys the discharge to a treatment plant located along the Salinas River. The Separate Sanitary Sewer and Storm Sewer Systems serve the same area to collect municipal sewage and stormwater runoff, respectively. Both flows are prohibited in the Industrial Wastewater System.

Industrial Waste Treatment Plant Wastewater Discharge Fees

Use the table and formula to calculate industrial waste charges beginning January 1, 2024. The new rate structure was approved by City Council on April 4, 2023. Rates were established by resolution number 22621 (NCS)

Description 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Monthly Service Charge Per Account $415 $263 $321 $327 $334 $341
Reservation Capacity Charge - per million gallons of reserved capacity $0 $91 $111 $113 $115 $117
Flow - per million gallons of average monthly $1,036 $1,389 $1,695 $1,729 $1,764 $1,799
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - per pound of average monthly $0.28 $0.29 $0.35 $0.36 $0.37 $0.38

Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant

A tractor at a wastewater facility

Wastewater Discharge Fees

Cost per month = service fee $321 + ($0.35 x average month BOD) + ($1,695 x average month flow ( in millions of gallons))

Reserved Allocation Charge (Per Million Gallon Allocation $111)

This formula was determined by the city, which contracted with consultant Carollo Engineers, Inc. to assist with determining the revenue needs of the Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant. These needs included:

  • funding of the state-certified personnel required to run the Industrial Waste Treatment Plant
  • Monies needed for short and long-term capital improvement programs
  • To fund administrative assistance in updating industrial waste discharge permits
  • Perform facility inspections
  • Conduct water sampling
  • Prepare monthly billing

The city contracts with Monterey One Water to carry out these functions on behalf of the city.

Average Monthly Flow

  1. The industrial customers are responsible for submitting their flow meter readings at the end of each month.
  2. These flow readings are taken from your final discharge point flow meter and are intended to capture all process flow from your facility.
  3. Each industry reports the flow meter reading each month on a form provided by the City and is faxed or emailed to Monterey One Water each month.
  4. That flow is divided by the number of days in the month to obtain an average in million gallons per day.
  5. The final average number is multiplied by $1,695 per the formula.

Average Monthly BOD

  1. If an industry is considered a significant industrial user (SIU).
    1. All industrial users are subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N; and
    2. Any other industrial user that:
      1. Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blow down wastewater); contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the control authority on the basis that the industrial user has a resonable potential for adversely affecting the POTWs operation for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).

Reserved Allocation Charge

Per million gallon allocation: $111

Water flowing at a wastewater facility

Additional Sampling Requirements

The City must also conduct a 24-hour composite sampling twice each year with a composite sampling machine at all significant industrial users. This sampling cost is charged back to the industry and is performed by the City as a courtesy. There are extended regulations if an SIU decides to conduct the 24-hour composite monitoring that would result in additional costs to the industry.

Helpful Links

Documents

Sewer System Management Plan

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