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.
The term is used extensively in U.S. water pollution law (i.e. the Clean Water Act), regulations and programs.[1][2] Many POTWs were established and/or expanded with grants or low-interest loans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).