Process Manufacturing worked example

Process Wastewater Cost with wastewater volume treated of 9,000 gal: a worked example

This worked example runs the process wastewater cost numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: wastewater volume treated of 9,000 gal instead of the typical 18,000 gal. Estimate process wastewater cost from wastewater volume, treatment cost, labor, and surcharge adders.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Wastewater volume treated: 9,000 gal (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 18,000)
  • Treatment cost per gallon: 0.02 $ / gal (held at the documented default)
  • Sampling, handling, and labor cost: 240 $ (held at the documented default)
  • Surcharge, permit, and overhead adders: 160 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total wastewater cost = wastewater volume × treatment cost per gallon + labor + surcharge adders.
  • total process wastewater cost works out to 562 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • wastewater cost per gallon works out to 0.06 $ / gal at these inputs.
  • variable treatment cost works out to 162 $ at these inputs.
  • handling, surcharge, and overhead adders works out to 400 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where wastewater volume treated sits at 18,000 gal and the headline result is 724 $, this scenario comes in 22.38% below the baseline at 562 $.
  • Use it when pricing an effluent stream, building the case for water reuse or load reduction, or allocating treatment cost across products or lines. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • total process wastewater cost: 562 $ (headline result)
  • wastewater cost per gallon: 0.06 $ / gal
  • variable treatment cost: 162 $
  • handling, surcharge, and overhead adders: 400 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Process Wastewater Cost calculator, set wastewater volume treated to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.