Council passes first reading of industrial pretreatment code changes; staff outlines wastewater sampling program

Westminster City Council passed on first reading Councilor's Bill No. 1 on Feb. 10, advancing proposed amendments to Title 8, Chapter 10 of the Westminster Municipal Code related to the industrial pretreatment program that governs commercial and industrial discharges to the municipal sewer system.

Why it matters: The industrial pretreatment program protects downstream wastewater treatment operations and ensures compliance with the city's NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. Changes to local code affect how industrial dischargers are permitted and monitored.

Motion and vote: Councilor DeMott moved to pass Councilor's Bill No. 1 on first reading; Mayor Pro Tem Nirmala seconded. The motion passed on a 7-0 roll call.

Substantive discussion and technical briefing: Councilor Carmelia requested more detail on the city's wastewater sampling and monitoring practices. Tanner Craft, the wastewater treatment plant superintendent, explained the facility uses a biological nutrient removal process and has a robust process-control sampling program covering constituents in the city's NPDES permit.

Tara Wilson, water quality program supervisor, described how staff identifies sampling points across the collection system: 12 locations designated for domestic sampling (manholes that represent residential waste sources), 12 sites chosen for commercial-source sampling (fast-food restaurants, car washes and similar businesses), and additional sampling of permitted industrial users and significant industrial users in the system (for example, Ball Aerospace). Staff said permitted industries are sampled at least once annually and also conduct monthly self-monitoring, while the city's larger collection-system monitoring occurs at least annually.

Staff said the pretreatment program targets non-domestic discharges and that when new or unexpected influent constituents appear in commercial sampling, staff will investigate and, if needed, require a new permit or additional controls.

Next steps: The bill advanced on first reading; staff will return with the second reading and any final edits requested by council. Councilors asked for continued technical briefings to ensure public understanding of sampling frequency, monitoring locations and enforcement pathways.