Water containing wastes – aka wastewater – from residential,
commercial and industrial processes requires treatment to remove
pollutants prior to discharge. After treatment, the water is
suitable for nonconsumption (nonpotable) and even potable use.
In California, water recycling is a critical component of the
state’s efforts to use water supplies more efficiently. The state
presently recycling about 669,000 acre-feet of water per year and
has the potential to reuse an additional two million acre-feet
per year.
Non-potable uses include:
landscape and crop irrigation
stream and wetlands enhancement
industrial processes
recreational lakes, fountains and decorative ponds
toilet flushing and gray water applications
as a barrier to protect groundwater supplies
from seawater intrusion
wetland habitat creation, restoration, and maintenance
Richmond agreed to pay a $336,000 fine after it was found to
have released poorly treated sewage water into the San
Francisco Bay for more than a year. Half of that money will go
toward environmental education for children. Between July 31,
2022, and Dec. 31, 2023, inadequately treated wastewater was
released 112 times from the Richmond Municipal Sewer District
Water Pollution Control Plant at 601 Canal Blvd., the San
Francisco Bay Regional Water District announced Friday. Each
violation cost the city $3,000, according to a settlement
agreement between the city and water district. Richmond’s water
pollution control plant is responsible for reducing the amount
of harmful chemicals and pollutants flushed down toilets and
dumped in the drains of Richmond homes, businesses and
industrial operations before flowing into the San Francisco
Bay.
… The City’s aging combined sewer infrastructure – and the
increasing cost to maintain it – forced San Francisco into an
odd position on the wrong side of clean water advocacy. This
recently culminated in March 2025. In a 5-4 decision, the
Supreme Court ruled in favor of San Francisco in its case
against the EPA, significantly limiting the federal
government’s ability to enforce water quality standards
nationwide. The case began when San Francisco challenged
EPA regulations to avoid penalties for discharging sewage into
the Bay and Pacific Ocean from its combined sewer system. The
city argued that the Clean Water Act doesn’t authorize the EPA
to include broad “end-result” requirements in
permits—essentially fighting for less oversight of its
pollution. … While the Supreme Court decision represents
a significant setback for clean water protections nationwide,
it also creates an opportunity for grassroots action. Cities
across America, including San Francisco, can voluntarily
implement so-called “Green Infrastructure” solutions that
reduce pollution without waiting for federal mandates.
A collapsing coastal bluff is imperiling a key part of San
Clemente’s sewer system, the Linda Lane pump station, like
never before. Ten years ago, the city put up a retainer wall to
guard the pump station. An active, ever-encroaching landslide
has since forced San Clemente to scale the wall up to 8 feet in
height and reinforce it with raker system supports. Despite all
efforts, the slow-moving landslide has breached the wall around
the pump station and the city now faces the threat of a sewer
spill. The San Clemente City Council on Tuesday weighed
whether to approve a $2.3-million emergency contract to armor
the pump station with caissons and tiebacks before the arrival
of significant rainstorms or gamble by delaying the project for
a few months to solicit competitive bids. … According to
a city staff report, the pump station and beach trunk sewer
line transport about a million gallons of raw
wastewater every day to San Clemente’s water
reclamation plant to be treated.
Some La Plata County residents are looking for alternate
sources of drinking water after a wastewater treatment system
malfunctioned, sending E. coli into the local waterways. The
wastewater treatment system serves Pine Winds Mobile Home Park,
where about 60 people live east of the La Plata River and west
of Durango. Rivulets of water crisscrossed the community’s main
road Monday, flooding its central leach field. The field
typically helps treat wastewater before it enters the
groundwater system or nearby creek that flows into the La Plata
River. The leach field is failing, said Nicole Rowan,
director of the water quality control division at the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment. “There’s too much
water in there, so it can’t slowly let the water flow through
it to properly treat it,” Rowan said.
Researchers have found that pollutants in the Tijuana River,
which carries raw sewage and industrial waste from Tijuana, are
also turning up in the air along the coast near the U.S.-Mexico
border. After collecting samples from air and water along the
coast, scientists from UC San Diego determined that fine
particles of various pollutants from wastewater are in the air
in parts of San Diego County. They found that sea spray
aerosols contain illicit drugs and drug byproducts that occur
in human urine, as well as chemicals from tires and personal
care products. The researchers said the pollutants are carried
in wastewater and stormwater runoff, and become airborne in
spray where the river meets the crashing waves near the border.
Pollutants also likely enter the air from churning waters in
the river itself, they said.
Coronado’s shoreline closed over Memorial Day weekend as
wastewater from the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis pushed
bacteria into coastal waters. … Agencies in both the US
and Mexico are working to repair the failing infrastructure
that causes the ongoing pollution. Mexico is currently in the
second phase of repairing its International Collector, which
carries Tijuana’s wastewater to treatment plants and is prone
to leaks. It is unclear if the weekend’s closures were related
to the project, although the US International Boundary and
Water Commission said ahead of the project that excess sewage
flow might arise from the project. During the project’s
first phase, Mexico diverted excess sewage into the Tijuana
River, which ultimately caused beach closures in Coronado.
… In the US, the IBWC is working to repair its own
infrastructure, the most notable of which is the South Bay
International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Windsor residents should be prepared to pay more for water and
sewer service come July 1. But the Windsor Town Council is not
ready to approve rates quite yet. The council, in a 4-0 vote
Wednesday, opted to continue the conversation about a 6%
increase for water rates and 11% wastewater rate. … The
Wednesday night decision marks the council’s second delay for
approving the new rates, giving Windsor residents an extension
for protesting the potential rates. … The increases are
driven largely by the rise in wholesale rates charged by Sonoma
Water, the county agency that serves as the region’s dominant
supplier, as well as costs from town water and sewer
infrastructure upgrades. … The higher rates will go
toward covering replacement costs for the town’s wastewater
treatment system and construction of a facility to handle
biosolids — organic matter reclaimed from sewage and used in
agriculture — with a combined price tag of $175 million.
The Environmental Protection Agency and International Boundary
and Water Commission on Tuesday announced the fast-track
expansion of the International Wastewater Treatment Plant in
the Tijuana River Valley. The facility has been in a state of
disrepair for years and had been undergoing a remodel to double
its capacity at a cost of more than $600 million, the work was
slated to take several years to complete. But according to the
EPA and the IBWC, the construction will now be done in 100
days, expanding capacity from 25 million gallons to 35 million
per day. “It’s something we’ve been asking for a long
time,” said Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach, the
American city most affected by the sewage and pollution that
comes in from Mexico on a daily basis. The contamination
has forced the city’s beaches to be closed for more than 1,000
consecutive days.
Wastewater and drinking water systems in small and rural
communities across America will receive an extra funding boost
to improve water quality, per an announcement from the
Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday. The EPA will
distribute $30.7 million in technical assistance grants to help
small, underfunded public water systems comply with the Safe
Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. The funds can also be
used to help private well owners in rural areas improve their
water quality and update small public wastewater septic
systems. “Small and rural communities are the backbone of our
country, and they face unique challenges when it comes to
ensuring clean and safe water,” EPA Senior Advisor Jessica
Kramer said.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) have
announced the expansion of the South Bay International
Wastewater Treatment Plant will be fast-tracked to be completed
in just over 3 months. The work is in an effort to reduce
polluted river flows and aims to address air and water quality
impacts in southern San Diego County. The USIBWC and EPA
announced Tuesday the South Bay International Wastewater
Treatment Plant that is located just north of the U.S.-Mexico
border along the Tijuana River in southern San Diego County
will be expanded from 25 to 35 million gallons per
day. The work will now take place in 100 days for the
project that was initially slated to take two years to
complete, USIBWC said.
Without an end in sight to the pollution and sewage stench in
the Tijuana River Valley, long-time resident and advocate
Gabriel Uribe has decided to move out of the area. He recently
leased an apartment a few miles north of the Valley to get away
from the smell and toxins in the air, which he blames for his
son’s respiratory and other health issues. … He was also
disappointed with last month’s visit from Lee Zeldin, the
Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, saying he felt
Zeldin didn’t really want to help. During his visit the
area on Earth Day, Zeldin said that Mexico must stop the flow
of billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals, adding
that he would present Mexico a to-do list of projects to
resolve the decades-long environmental crisis. However, he
stopped short of specifying how the Trump administration would
hold Mexico accountable if it does not act.
An investment of over 15 billion pesos will be allocated to
address cross-border wastewater flows that have plagued Tijuana
and San Diego for decades. Víctor Daniel Amador Barragán,
Baja California’s Secretary of Water Management, Sanitation,
and Protection, highlighted the news during Governor Marina del
Pilar Ávila Olmeda’s weekly press conference. Amador
Barragán presented updates on Minute 328 of the International
Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) regarding the Binational
Tijuana River Sanitation Agreement. Signed in July 2022, this
agreement represents the largest allocation of resources in 40
years to tackle the environmental issue. According to
official data, the total binational investment amounts to
around $15 billion pesos, with $12.373 billion coming from the
U.S. government and $2.762 billion from the Mexican government.
These funds will be distributed across 17 key projects aimed at
modernizing and expanding sanitation infrastructure.
Central Valley water regulators want the world’s largest winery
to stop using its wastewater on local crops — a decades-old
waste management practice — because it’s threatening Fresno’s
drinking water supply. The Central Valley Water Regional
Quality Control Board issued a tentative Cease and Desist Order
to E. & J. Gallo Winery in March for allegedly violating 2015
waste discharge requirements. … The stipulated order
says the winery at Olive and Clovis avenues is “threatening to
adversely impact groundwater beneath the Facility.”
Specifically, Gallo’s practice of applying some of its
untreated wastewater from the grape crush and press process
directly to 400 acres of local cropland has resulted in
concentrations of nitrate and other contaminants above
allowable levels. The city of Fresno is directly impacted by
the winery’s wastewater practices because it relies on
groundwater downgradient of the winery for its municipal
drinking water.
Tap water is now safe to drink in areas served by all nine
water systems where damage from the firestorms in Altadena and
Pacific Palisades had prompted “do not drink” notices, state
regulators said Friday. The last water utility with such a
notice, the Las Flores Water Co. in Altadena, was cleared to
resume delivering drinking water and lifted its “do not drink”
and “do not boil” advisory on Friday, four months after the
notice was issued. Las Flores has recommended to
customers that when they resume using water, they take
various steps to flush the household system, including running
all the faucets for at least five minutes before
using. Officials from the State Water Resources Control
Board said they have been working with utilities to
help assess damage, test for potential contamination and ensure
it’s safe to resume water service.
Imperial Beach leaders want the federal government to take
stronger action in the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis by
accelerating its construction projects and pressuring Mexico
with punitive action, if necessary. That pressure could include
limiting border crossings and sales of potable water to Tijuana
during county-declared public health threats. … Imperial
Beach’s resolution asks Congress to expedite the rehabilitation
and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater
Treatment Plant (SBIWTP), a $600 million project overseen by
the US International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). It
also suggests the federal government take punitive action
against Mexico, if necessary. It notes that 90 percent of
Tijuana’s imported water comes from the Colorado
River, underscoring the city’s dependence on its 1944
United States-Mexico Water Treaty, and says Mexico has shown
“persistent noncompliance” in the treaty terms, causing the
ongoing wastewater pollution.
A nearly half-mile segment of coastline in Huntington Beach and
Newport Beach at the Talbert Channel reopened to surfers and
swimmers Monday morning after a large sewage spill caused a
weekend cessation of water activity. Orange County Health Care
Agency officials on Saturday called for the temporary closure
along beaches 1,000 feet to the north and south of the channel,
near the mouth of the Santa Ana River, to protect visitors from
potential exposure to bacteria. The spill stemmed from a
blockage discovered Friday evening in a sewer line on Costa
Mesa’s Mesa Verde Drive East, near Golf Course Drive, according
to Scott Carroll, general manager of Costa Mesa Sanitary
District.
Last week, I sat down with Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lee Zeldin for a roundtable focused on a crisis
that’s poisoned our coastlines for decades: the relentless
dumping of toxic sewage from Mexico into Southern California’s
waters. This wasn’t another meeting about more studies, more
delays, or more bureaucratic finger-pointing. It was about one
thing: action. I told Administrator Zeldin what so many San
Diegans already know: this isn’t just an environmental disaster
— it’s a national security threat. When our Navy SEALs — the
elite warriors of our military — are forced to abandon training
operations due to contaminated waters, we have crossed a line.
When our families can’t enjoy our beaches without the risk of
serious illness, something is fundamentally broken. The good
news? Your voices are being heard. –Written by Jim Desmond, member of the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors.
Each day, the Tijuana River carries millions—and sometimes
billions—of gallons of sewage across the U.S.-Mexico border
into California, where it dumps into the ocean. This wave of
waste frequently overwhelms wastewater treatment plants in both
countries, fueling a public health and environmental crisis in
nearby San Diego communities. The problem has gotten worse in
recent years as budget-strapped infrastructure deteriorates and
climate change fuels increasingly intense storms. Last
week, the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Lee
Zeldin, visited San Diego County to urge a “100 percent
solution” from Mexico and the U.S. for ending the flow of
untreated wastewater. He told reporters that a meeting with
Mexico officials went well but stressed that the U.S. is “all
out of patience.”
… The key to preventing disasters … is regular inspection
of sewer lines, hunting down any cracks and fissures that, if
left unattended, can lead to soil ingress and eventual collapse
of the pipe. Sewer pipes can be dark, cramped, and filled
with pockets of gas, making inspecting large networks using
traditional methods (typically a tethered, remotely operated
crawler fitted with a camera or even in-person) a slow, costly,
and often hazardous process. This is where drones come in.
Designed and engineered to operate in confined spaces, a new
generation of flying robots is being sent into sewers to
perform inspections in a safer, more efficient way.
Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly
increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as
traditional water supplies grow tighter.
The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a
strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.
Momentum is building for a unique
interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern
California homes and business into relief for the stressed
Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a
river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being
shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water
agencies.
Martha Guzman recalls those awful
days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative
secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a
recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks
were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a
troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible
time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across
California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay
for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually
spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely
greatest opportunity.”
Innovative efforts to accelerate
restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the
benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water
agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires.
Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of
California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address
persistent challenges facing the Colorado River.
These were among the issues Western Water explored in
2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed
them.
The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.
Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.
Blasted by sun and beaten by waves,
plastic bottles and bags shed fibers and tiny flecks of
microplastic debris that litter the San Francisco Bay where they
can choke the marine life that inadvertently consumes it.
Summer is a good time to take a
break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and
watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting
a chance to do plenty of that this July.
But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss
some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re
taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned
for later this year, we want to help you catch up on
Western Water stories from the first half of this year
that you might have missed.
Each day, people living on the streets and camping along waterways across California face the same struggle – finding clean drinking water and a place to wash and go to the bathroom.
Some find friendly businesses willing to help, or public restrooms and drinking water fountains. Yet for many homeless people, accessing the water and sanitation that most people take for granted remains a daily struggle.
Californians have been doing an
exceptional job
reducing their indoor water use, helping the state survive
the most recent drought when water districts were required to
meet conservation targets. With more droughts inevitable,
Californians are likely to face even greater calls to save water
in the future.
For the bulk of her career, Jayne
Harkins has devoted her energy to issues associated with the
management of the Colorado River, both with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and with the Colorado River Commission of Nevada.
Now her career is taking a different direction. Harkins, 58, was
appointed by President Trump last August to take the helm of the
United States section of the U.S.-Mexico agency that oversees
myriad water matters between the two countries as they seek to
sustainably manage the supply and water quality of the Colorado
River, including its once-thriving Delta in Mexico, and other
rivers the two countries share. She is the first woman to be
named the U.S. Commissioner of the International Boundary and
Water Commission for either the United States or Mexico in the
commission’s 129-year history.
Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.
In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)
Imported water from the Sierra
Nevada and the Colorado River built Southern California. Yet as
drought, climate change and environmental concerns render those
supplies increasingly at risk, the Southland’s cities have ramped
up their efforts to rely more on local sources and less on
imported water.
Far and away the most ambitious goal has been set by the city of
Santa Monica, which in 2014 embarked on a course to be virtually
water independent through local sources by 2023. In the 1990s,
Santa Monica was completely dependent on imported water. Now, it
derives more than 70 percent of its water locally.
In rural areas with widely dispersed houses, reliance upon a
centralized
sewer system is not practical compared to individual
wastewater treatment methods. These on-site management facilities
– or septic systems – are more commonplace given their simpler
structure, efficiency and easy maintenance.
Microplastics – plastic debris
measuring less than 5 millimeters – are an
increasing water quality concern. They enter waterways and
oceans as industrial microbeads from various consumer
products or larger plastic litter that degrades into small bits.
Microbeads have been used in exfoliating agents, cosmetic washes
and large-scale cleaning processes. Microplastics are used
pharmaceutically for efficient drug delivery to affected sites in
patients’ bodies and by textile companies to create artificial
fibers.
Microplastics disperse easily and widely throughout surface waters and sediments. UV
light, microbes and erosion degrade the tiny fragments, making
them even smaller and more difficult for wastewater treatment
plants to remove.
The particles, usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene
plastic, take thousands of years to biodegrade
naturally. It takes prohibitively high temperatures to
break microplastics down fully. Consequently, most water treatment plants cannot remove
them.
The health effects of consumption are currently under
investigation.
Responses
Many advocacy groups have published lists of products containing
microbeads to curb their purchase and pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates microbeads in
industrial, but not domestic, wastewater.
Federal
law required microbeads to be phased out of rinse-off
cosmetics beginning in July 2017. Dozens of states also
regulate microbeads in products. California has the strictest
limitation, prohibiting even the use of biodegradable microbeads.
Microplastics in California Water
In 2019, the San Francisco Estuary Institute published a
study estimating that 7 trillion pieces of microplastic
enter San Francisco
Bay annually from stormwater runoff, about 300
times the amount in all wastewater treatment effluent entering
the bay.
California lawmakers in 2018 passed a package of bills to raise
awareness of the risks of microplastics and microfibers in the
marine environment and drinking water. As
directed by the legislation, the State Water Resources Control
Board in 2020 adopted an official
definition of microplastics in drinking water and in 2022
developed the world’s standardized methods for testing drinking
water for microplastics.
The water board was expected by late 2023 to begin testing
for microplastics in untreated drinking water sources tapped by
30 of the state’s largest water utilities. After two years, the
testing was expected to extend to treated tap water served
to consumers. A progress report and recommendations for
policy changes or additional research are required by the end of
2025.
Directly detecting harmful pathogens in water can be expensive,
unreliable and incredibly complicated. Fortunately, certain
organisms are known to consistently coexist with these harmful
microbes which are substantially easier to detect and culture:
coliform bacteria. These generally non-toxic organisms are
frequently used as “indicator
species,” or organisms whose presence demonstrates a
particular feature of its surrounding environment.
The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of water determines the
impact of decaying matter on species in a specific ecosystem.
Sampling for BOD tests how much oxygen is needed by bacteria to
break down the organic matter.
Point sources release pollutants from discrete conveyances, such
as a discharge pipe, and are regulated by federal and state
agencies. The main point source dischargers are factories and
sewage treatment plants, which release treated
wastewater.
This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to California
Wastewater is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the history of wastewater
treatment and how wastewater is collected, conveyed, treated and
disposed of today. The guide also offers case studies of
different treatment plants and their treatment processes.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing
uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta,
its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues
with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural
drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.
Wastewater management in California centers on the collection,
conveyance,
treatment, reuse and disposal of wastewater. This process is
conducted largely by public agencies, though there are also
private systems in places where a publicly owned treatment plant
is not feasible.
In California, wastewater treatment takes place through 100,000
miles of sanitary sewer lines and at more than 900 wastewater
treatment plants that manage the roughly 4 billion gallons of
wastewater generated in the state each day.
