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Water
Even in a state with an abundant water supply, companies pay twice for water.
They pay for the volume of water provided and for the amount of water discharged to the local treatment facility. Below is a sampling of the fees associated with water use and sewering, to help you calculate the cost of water at your facility. The total cost might start you thinking about conservation.
Volume
Companies are charged for both the volume of water provided to them by their municipal water utilities and the volume they send to their municipal treatment facility.
Every three years the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) reviews permittees in the Twin Cities metro area to determine if their service availability charge (SAC) fees need to be reassessed. A SAC is a one-time fee based on new connections or increased volumes of wastewater.In 2008, one SAC unit (274 gallons of water per day) costs $1,825. To give companies the opportunity to reduce water use and discharge in lieu of new SAC fees, MCES begins its SAC review one year prior to permit renewal and any new assessment.
Communities in the Twin Cities area assess water access charges (WAC), or other municipal-impact or connection fees, based on the SAC.
Strength
The wastewater fees of most publicly owned water treatment plants are based on the amount of waste in the discharged water—the strength. Companies are subject to this fee if they have continuous or batch discharges or spills of high strength wastewater. The strength is determined by the following factors (the levels in parentheses indicate when they are considered high by Metropolitan Council Environmental Services [MCES]). |
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BOD /biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen it takes to degrade organic matter. |
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COD /chemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen required to oxidize organic compounds (>500 milligrams per liter). |
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TSS /total suspended solids is the total amount of suspended materials (>250 milligrams per liter). |
To estimate strength charges in the Twin Cities metro area, use the MCES Strength Charge Calculator.
Permit Fees
MCES charges permitted industrial users a fee based on their reporting frequency.
How Water Flow Impacts Cash Flow
The table below illustrates how reducing or increasing your water use impacts your cash flow.
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