The City of Watertown completed a Smart Growth Comprehensive Master Plan (hereafter referred to as the Comprehensive Plan) in August 2000 and a Wastewater Facilities Plan in September 2000. This Sanitary Sewer Service Area Plan is intended to complement these previous planning efforts and provide a framework for guiding future development in the area. The Plan takes into account the technical, environmental and growth projections of the City in establishing the sewer service area. A separate document titled, Sanitary Sewer System Hydraulic Model City of Watertown, Wisconsin includes a hydraulic evaluation of the City's existing sanitary sewers to determine the capacity needs to meet current deficiencies and to address future extensions of the sanitary sewer system.

This plan identifies and seeks to protect environmentally sensitive areas including, but not limited to, wetlands, floodplains, shorelands, steep slopes, and highly erodible soil from indiscriminate urban growth. These areas are excluded from the sanitary sewer service area.

This Sewer Service Area Plan represents the official water quality management plan for the City of Watertown. The planning area for this Plan includes the City of Watertown and portions of the surrounding Townships of Emmet and Shields in Dodge County and the Townships of Watertown and Milford in Jefferson County.