City of Davis, CA
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On December 9, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluated the City of Davis Pretreatment Program for compliance. During this evaluation, it was determined that the City’s wastewater local limits needed to be reviewed for potential updates. Any updates require approval by the State or Regional Water Quality Control Board as a substantial change to the City’s Pretreatment Program.
The City’s current local limits were developed in 1993 and most recently modified in 2013.
After review of a report on the Local Limits, on December 28, 2023, The State Water Board on behalf of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board approved the City of Davis’s proposed changes.
The Davis City Council will conduct a public hearing at the City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, in the Community Chambers at City Hall, 23 Russell Boulevard, Davis, California, for the purpose of receiving comments on proposed updates to the City’s Wastewater Discharge Local Limits.
The Notice of Public Hearing, approval letter from the State and the Local Limits study can be found here:
- Davis Local Limits Report
- City of Davis Local limits Approval Transmittal Letter
- Notice of Public Hearing - Updates to the City Wastewater Discharge Local Limits
The City of Davis Public Works Utilities and Operations Department is responsible for developing, implementing and reporting on three State-mandated regulatory programs aimed at reducing pollutants discharged into our wastewater (sewer) and our stormwater collection systems. The requirements of these programs are found in these regulatory permits:
- Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems (Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ)
- Waste Discharge Requirements for Storm Water Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) (General Permit No. CAS000004)
- Waste Discharge Requirements (NPDES Permit No. CA0079049) issued to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant
These regulatory permits all contain general conditions to be implemented and identify specific targeted pollutants for reduction or control. The City is required by law to address the targeted pollutants through established measures. These measures may include, but are not limited to, prohibiting discharges, numeric limits, source control programs and establishing Best Management Practices (BMPs).
The City’s wastewater system brings wastewater to the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is treated to remove contaminants before being discharged to the environment. Wastewater treatment plants can remove most contaminants from water, but they can’t remove everything. In order to prevent water pollution and damage to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and City wastewater system, it’s essential that we keep harmful items out of the wastewater.
The Pretreatment Program is responsible for providing regulatory oversight of wastewater discharges in our service area, with an emphasis on industrial and commercial (non-residential) customers. The goal is to protect the conveyance system and the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant from harmful discharges through permitting, sampling, enforcement and oversight related to industrial discharges. Additionally, the pretreatment program implements significant source reduction programs, outreach and education programs and incident response.