Watertown maintains and enforces an Industrial Pretreatment Program that is approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The city regulates local industry to insure the industries are in compliance with the appropriate regulations (federal, state, and local). The purpose of the program is to prevent the introduction of pollutants into the sanitary sewer system that the wastewater treatment facility cannot treat. The biological processes at the facility are sensitive to a number of industrial pollutants.

If you are an industrial or commercial business in Watertown you are encouraged to contact the Industrial Pretreatment Program to determine if any regulations or permitting requirements apply and/or if you need to apply for a permit. The Industrial Pretreatment Program Staff may be contacted by calling 605-882-6244. Please be aware that just having certain processes on-site can subject an entity to regulations and/or permitting requirements. Processes do not have to discharge to the sanitary sewer for regulations and/or permitting requirements to apply.

Industrial Users

Currently the program has 15 permitted industrial users. These industries are required to track the amount of wastewater they discharge to the sanitary sewer and sample their discharges. Each of these industries is inspected annually and oversight monitoring is conducted by the Industrial Pretreatment Program Staff annually.

Commercial Inspections

Commercial establishments are also inspected. These establishments are inspected to determine what processes are on-site and what is discharged to the sanitary sewer. Based on the information obtained, it is determined if any federal, state, or local regulations apply.