![]() ![]() In 2015, California recycled roughly 714,000 acre-feet of water per year (ac-ft/yr).6 Use of reclaimed water for consumption is becoming more common, particularly in regions prone to drought or with growing water demand (such as the U.S. An estimated 14,748 POTWs provide wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal service to more than 238 million people.3 Failing septic systems may contaminate surface and groundwater. Over 16% of households are not served by public sewers and usually depend on septic tanks to treat and dispose of wastewater.Excess nutrients can come from agriculture, urban runoff, and wastewater treatment and cause water quality problems, such as algal blooms and fish kills.In the U.S., 58% of river and stream miles, 40% of lake acres, 17% of estuarine square miles, and 23% of Great Lakes shoreline miles that have been assessed by the U.S.Pollutants contaminate receiving water via many pathways: point sources, non-point sources (e.g., air deposition, agriculture), sanitary sewer overflows, stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows, and hydrologic modifications (e.g., channelization and dredging).In addition, much of the existing wastewater infrastructure, including collection systems, treatment plants, and equipment, has deteriorated and is in need of repair or replacement. Despite the improvement in effluent quality, point source discharges continue to be a significant contributor to the degradation of surface water quality. ![]() Since the early 1970s, effluent water quality has been improved at Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) and other point source discharges through major public and private investments prescribed by the Clean Water Act (CWA). Additional information regarding NYS DEC’s SPDES Program, including online data in various formats, is available at many years, humans have treated wastewater to protect human and ecological health from waterborne diseases. Data is routinely updated based on the data collection methodology, and this dataset will be updated monthly. The SPDES database contains the following data on each permit: ownership, effective dates, locations, and receiving waters. Each municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) must operate under an individual SPDES permit that defines the parameters under which it is allowed to discharge to the waters of New York State. Under New York State law the program is broader in scope than that required by the Clean Water Act in that it controls point source discharges to groundwaters as well as surface waters. The New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the control of wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with the Clean Water Act. Additional information regarding NYS DEC’s SPDES Program, including online data in various formats, is available at Expand ![]()
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