The cost associated with waste-water treatment is determined by two factors. Those factors are volume and strength of constituents.

Haltom City does not have a facility for waste-water treatment, therefore we deliver our waste water by major pipelines to the treatment plant in Fort Worth. We are billed for this service based on the two factors noted above, and we have chosen to bill all Haltom City customers the same way. Your water bill will show one amount for sewer service and a second line item called sewer surcharge. Some cities actually charge for both sewer and sewer surcharge but add these two items together and list a single charge called "sewer". Residential accounts in Haltom City are set at a Sewer Surcharge BOD of 223 and a TSS of 254. Strength of waste-water is measured by two laboratory tests both of which affect the cost of treatment. These two tests are Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Water Commission regulate and set standards for each treatment plant in the state. These standards require that the plant remove certain pollutants and reduce the TSS and BOD to specified levels before discharging the treated water to a receiving stream.

In Haltom City, with the exception of major dischargers, we have divided all water customers into categories based on the type of waste-water discharged. We have sampled representative waste streams from each category and determined average strengths. This has proven to be an equitable means of recovering the expense of waste-water treatment. In the case of major dischargers which use in excess of 25,000 gallons per day, monitoring is conducted at least annually at the customer's expense to determine waste-water strength. These testing charges called "Laboratory Service Fees" are notified by the Environmental Services department.