Citizens Energy Group’s two wastewater treatment facilities are primarily designed to remove domestic wastewater pollutants such as biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS) and ammonia. The wastewater treatment plants also accept wastes from Industrial and Commercial establishments that have non-domestic wastewater. In some cases, these non-domestic wastewaters have a “higher strength” of pollutants than domestic wastewater. High strength wastewater is harder to treat and costs more to process. The High Strength program helps to recover part of the costs of treatment and to make commercial and industrial discharger fees equitable to residential users.
A high strength discharge is a discharge to the sewer system that has concentrations of BOD, SS and/or ammonia greater than an average residence.
High strength discharges typically apply to Commercial or Industrial facilities that are:
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Restaurants
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Bakeries
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Commercial laundries
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Food processing facilities
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Beverage manufacturing
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Hospitals
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Nursing homes
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Breweries
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Dairies
I may be a high strength discharger. What do I need to do?
If you are a Commercial or Industrial customer, you must complete the 
Wastewater Survey form and send it to address shown.
Your business will be evaluated for the potential to discharge “High Strength” wastewater. If you have the potential to discharge a high strength wastewater, then you will be required to conduct a round of sampling and analysis to categorize your discharge.
If your discharge is actually high strength, then you will be placed into the “Surcharge” program and asked to submit monthly sampling and analysis to the Authority. This data will be used for billing purposes.
What are the fees?
Fees are based on the pounds released in excess of the threshold contained in the Terms and Conditions of Service.
