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City staff recommends permitting a wastewater "deduct" meter for cannabis grower; outstanding allocation bill cited
Summary
Utilities staff told the council that a cannabis cultivation operation on Western Maryland Parkway captures and reuses much of its irrigation water and recommended allowing a process-dedicated meter and pretreatment permit to prevent wastewater billing on reused water.
City utilities staff briefed the mayor and council April 15 on a request from a cultivation and processing facility on Western Maryland Parkway that seeks a wastewater "deduct" meter for process water reuse.
Staff said the operator's indoor agricultural process captures and reuses a large portion of irrigation water through a closed-loop system; that reuse water is treated, analyzed for nutrient content and mixed with fresh water before reuse. The city's billing practice currently equates metered potable water use with wastewater flow for billing and allocation purposes. Utilities staff said the agriculture operation has few floor drains and that the vast majority of process water is not discharged to the sanitary system.
Utilities staff presented usage figures: an annual average of about 7,600 gallons per day in 2023 and just under 10,000 gallons per day in 2024. Under current allocation rules the facility would be charged wastewater allocation to match water use; staff said an outstanding wastewater allocation bill for the site would total roughly $170,000 if billed at full allocation rates. Staff proposed granting a deduct meter for the portion of flow that is not discharged, issuing a pretreatment permit with right-of-entry, and requiring annual meter calibration to verify accuracy.
Why it matters
If council allows an agricultural/process deduct meter for reuse, the city would collect less wastewater charge revenue from that account; staff provided sensitivity estimates showing revenue impact at various assumed reclaim rates (examples in staff memo). Staff emphasized safeguards such as permit-based oversight, calibration requirements and continued billing for domestic wastewater (bathrooms and break rooms) that does enter the sewer system.
Next steps
Staff recommended approving a wastewater deduct meter and related pretreatment permit terms to protect the city's interests and asked the council to authorize staff to complete inspections and technical conditions before any billing adjustments. Council discussion at the work session indicated staff should proceed with final technical review and permit issuance; no formal roll-call vote was recorded at the session.
