Wastewater is the collected spent water of a community or industry and contains a variety of contaminants. Prior to being disposed of into the environment, wastewater must be appropriately treated or managed depending on the type of wastewater:
Municipal and Industrial Wastewater
Your town, city or municipality is required to provide for wastewater treatment. Municipal wastewater treatment facilities generally collect and treat wastewater and then discharge the treated effluent to surface water or irrigate on farmland. An Environment Act Licence is required for the construction, alteration or operation of these types of facilities. In addition, an Environment Act Licence is required for water treatment plants (that provide drinking water) where the reject water is discharged directly into the environment.
Industrial wastewater can contain higher levels of specific contaminants than typical municipal wastewater, depending on the industry processes. Manufacturing facilities, food processing plants and other wet industries are required to obtain an Environment Act Licence for the construction, alteration and operation of the facility. Where the industry discharges raw or partially treated wastewater to a municipal wastewater treatment facility, terms and conditions addressing pre-treatment and the discharge to the municipal system are incorporated into the licence.
