MCES, a division of the Metropolitan Council, promotes clean water and protects public health and the environment in a number of ways, but primarily by collecting and treating the region's wastewater through a centralized system. MCES collects and treats about 300 million gallons of wastewater every day from 103 metro-area communities through a network of local pipes and regional interceptor sewers.
MCES treats the wastewater at eight plants throughout the region and returns clean water to area rivers. The cost of collection and treatment is passed on to residential and industrial users of the system.
However, current charges for disposing hauled liquid waste from septic systems and other sources does not cover the full cost of discharge, collection and treatment.
