Wastewater in Florida

With more than 7,700 lakes, 4,500 square miles of estuaries and bays, 50,000 miles of rivers and streams, and countless wetlands throughout the state, protecting water quality through proper wastewater management is vital to maintaining our quality of life. Improper disposal of the billions of gallons of wastewater produced in Florida every day could impact public health and the environment.

There are over 4,100 individually permitted domestic wastewater facilities (not including septic systems) and industrial wastewater facilities in Florida. A small percentage of these facilities are authorized to discharge to surface water. As surface water dischargers, they are subject to the department’s federally authorized National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. However, many of these NPDES facilities also discharge to ground waters. The remaining facilities are authorized solely as groundwater discharges through land-application, beneficial reuse of reclaimed water or deep well injection. 

Around three-quarters of the individually permitted wastewater facilities in Florida are classified as domestic (municipal) wastewater facilities. In general, domestic wastewater facilities are those principally designed to collect and treat sanitary wastewater or sewage from dwellings or homes, business buildings, institutions and the like. The remaining one-quarter individually permitted facilities are classified as industrial wastewater facilities. 

• For more wastewater facts and statistics, visit Wastewater Facts and Statistics.
• Lists of permitted domestic and industrial wastewater facilities in the state are available on Wastewater Facility Information.

The department's wastewater management programs located in Tallahassee are responsible for the overall policy, including permitting, compliance and enforcement, on the department's domestic and industrial wastewater programs and coordination of the federally authorized NPDES program. The wastewater management programs in Tallahassee are also in charge of developing the rules and guidance for implementing the wastewater programs consistently throughout Florida and providing technical assistance to district office programs.

For More Information

Please browse our wastewater topics listed on the right side for more information. If you still have questions about wastewater management in Florida, contact the appropriate wastewater management program.