Division of Surface Water

District staff in the Division of Surface Water perform the following duties:

Permitting

• Review plans and inspect sites for new wastewater treatment facilities.
• Review permit applications and prepare draft permits for municipal, commercial and industrial dischargers.
• Review plans for the disposal of sewage sludge, spent lime sludge from water treatment plants and land application of animal wastes, then inspect those sites.
• Review permit applications for discharges of storm water from industrial and construction sites.
• Provide technical assistance to the public, municipalities and industries.
• Inspect facilities and review monthly monitoring reports to ensure compliance with terms of discharge permits.
• Initiate enforcement actions for violations of permit conditions.

Pretreatment

• Approve, regulate and monitor performance of approved community pretreatment programs.
• Regulate industrial sewer system dischargers in communities without an approved pretreatment program.

Water Quality

• Collect monthly water samples from a statewide network of monitoring sites to develop surface water quality trends.
• Prepare detailed evaluations of the quality of many of the state's major waterways, including rivers and lakes.
• Conduct monitoring and toxics evaluations of dischargers to determine compliance with permits and/or current water quality standards.
• Conduct specialized monitoring to identify surface water problems; determine cause and effect relationships; and recommend how to improve water quality and prevent contamination.
• Coordinate wetland-related activities.
• Assist local entities with their applications for funding to address nonpoint source pollution issues and monitor progress.
• Respond to citizens' complaints about surface water contamination.
• Provide technical assistance and education to municipalities, industries, soil and water conservation districts and the public.