<P> A publicly owned treatment works (POTW) is a term used in the United States for a sewage treatment plant that is owned, and usually operated, by a government agency . In the U.S., POTWs are typically owned by local government agencies, and are usually designed to treat domestic sewage and not industrial wastewater . </P> <P> The term is used extensively in U.S. water pollution law (i.e. the Clean Water Act), regulations and programs . Many POTWs were established or expanded with grants or low - interest loans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). </P>

Number of wastewater treatment plants in the us