A Surcharge program is a procedure for recovering costs incurred while treating high strength waste discharged by industrial and commercial users into the wastewater system. It is an additional charge made to an industry which discharges industrial waste into the wastewater system that is amenable to treatment by the wastewater system but that exceeds the strength of normal wastewater.
Commercial and industrial establishments which routinely discharge Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentrations exceeding 250 mg/L are classified into the class groups established under Dallas City Code, Volume II, Chapter 49, Section 49-50.
An industrial surcharge rate for each class group is determined by averaging grab and/or composite samples, taken from a representative number of establishments in each group. This rate is applied to the water consumption or metered wastewater of the establishment. If the establishment is within a larger facility for which water usage is determined from a master meter, an estimated volume of the smaller establishment is used to calculate the surcharge rate. The appropriate industrial surcharge is added to billings for regular water and wastewater service.
If an establishment contains operations from more than one of the class groups, and the surcharge rate for a particular class group would not adequately compensate the city for its cost of treatment, DWU may :
- Assess a surcharge rate based on a proportional average of the class group rates under Dallas City Code, Volume II, Chapter 49, Section 49-50; or
- Require the establishment to be billed for an industrial surcharge computed under the requirements of Dallas City Code, Volume II, Chapter 49, Section 18.12. The surcharge formula reflects both a prompt payment rate and a standard rate. The rate for each user may be calculated once every 12 months.