Case Studies for Non-Traditional Approaches to Total Dissolved Solids Local Limits Development and NPDES Permit Compliance

摘要

TDS and/or specific components of total dissolved solids (TDS) may cause wastewater treatment and collection system issues. Each wastewater treatment system can tolerate a specific amount of TDS before the collection and treatment system is compromised. The Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pretreatment Regulations enable publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to implement local limits to control the discharge of pollutants into the collection and treatment system. In the absence of applicable water quality standards, the impact of TDS must be assessed using non-traditional approaches to a headworks analysis to determine industrial pretreatment limits. This paper presents four case studies documenting the impact of TDS on local limits and the respective pretreatment programs. The case study evaluations include the impact on wastewater treatment, whole effluent toxicity in the receiving stream, and water reuse.