We Discharge Into Local Waterways
Introduction
All wastewater treatment plants in the Bay Area discharge their cleaned wastewater – effluent – into local waterways. However the communities in the Bay Area, and their receiving waterways, are complex. There exist several different types of waterways, each of which have special considerations for the quality of their cleaned wastewater.
Some communities, like San Francisco, discharge their effluent directly into the Pacific Ocean. Other communities, like those served by Central San, discharge into Suisun Bay – a tidal bay. The city of Sacramento discharges into a permanent freshwater river, the Sacramento River. Other communities, like Napa, discharge into a seasonal river, the Napa River, which only has flowing water during the winter.
Each of these different habitats determine the water quality a treatment plant is responsible for. In some cases, this also determines when a treatment plant can discharge their effluent. This is why each treatment plant has its own unique NPDES permit with the state water quality control boards.
Below is a table of many of the agencies around the Bay Area, the habitats they discharge into, and the special permit considerations they have because of those habitats.
Discharging Into San Francisco Bay
The agencies below are examples of treatment plants that discharge directly into San Francisco Bay. Considerations for discharging into this waterway include depth – the Bay is typically shallow. Also tidal activity – some parts of the Bay have lots of tidal movement, in other parts of the Bay, the water can often be stagnant.
Central San Francisco Bay:
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Oakland
EBMUD discharges 120 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Central San Francisco Bay.
For more information, you can find EBMUD’s NPDES Permit here.
West County Wastewater and City of Richmond
West County Wastewater discharges 12.5 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Central San Francisco Bay. For more information, you can find West County’s NPDES Permit here.
Sanitary District No. 5, Tiburon
Sanitary District No. 5 in Tiburon discharges of .98 MGD of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Racoon Strait in Central San Francisco Bay. For more information, you can find Sanitary District No 5’s NPDES Permit here.
Lower San Francisco Bay:
East Bay Dischargers Authority (EBDA)
EBDA discharges 60 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Lower San Francisco Bay. EBDA receives wastewater from the cites of Hayward and San Leandro as well as from Oro Loma and Union Sanitary Districts. For more information, you can find EBDA’s NPDES Permit here.
City of Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant
Palo Alto WQCP discharges 39 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into South San Francisco Bay. Palo Alto WQCP treats wastewater from Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View, Stanford University, and East Palo Alto Sanitary District.
For more information, you can find City of Palo Alto’s NPDES Permit here.
San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant
The San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant discharges 110 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Artesian Slough, a tributary to South San Francisco Bay via Coyote Creek. San Jose/Santa Clara WPCP treats water from the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, and the Cupertino Sanitation District (Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga). For more information, you can find San Jose/Santa Clara’s NPDES Permit here.
San Pablo Bay:
Rodeo Sanitary District discharges 1.14 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into San Pablo Bay. For more information, you can find Rodeo San’s NPDES Permit here.
Novato Sanitary District discharges 5 MDG (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into San Pablo Bay. There are a few treatment facilities with two discharge locations, Novato is one of them. The first discharge location is in San Pablo Bay; the second location is into a wetland. For more information, you can find Novato San’s NPDES Permit here.
Suisun Bay
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
Central San discharges an average of 35 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated municipal wastewater into Suisun Bay. Central San treats wastewater from Martinez, Clyde, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Alamo, Moraga, Danville, and San Ramon. For more information, you can find Central San’s NPDES Permit here.
Discharging Into The Delta
The agencies below are examples of treatment plants that discharge into the Delta. Considerations for discharging into this waterway include…….
Ironhouse Sanitation District, Oakley
Ironhouse Sanitation District discharges 4.3 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated domestic wastewater into into the San Joaquin River. Under the Bay-Delta Plan in December 2006, beneficial uses of the estuary were established and includes objectives for flow, salinity, and endangered species protection. Ironhouse Sanitation District serves the communities of Oakley and Bethel Island.
For more information, you can find Iron House’s NPDES Permit here.
The City of Brentwood discharges 5 MGD (million gallons per day) of tertiary treated wastewater into Marsh Creek. The effluent leaving the Brentwood wastewater treatment plant meets or exceeds Title 22 drinking water standards. Marsh Creek drains into the Delta east of Oakley. For more information, you can find City of Brentwood’s NPDES Permit here.
Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District
The Town of Discovery Bay discharges 2.1 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated wastewater into Old River. Old River is a tidal distributary of the San Joaquin River and about 10 miles east of Oakley. For more information, you can find Discovery Bay’s NPDES Permit here.
Discharging Into Seasonal Rivers
The agencies below are examples of treatment plants that discharge into seasonal rivers. Seasonal rivers are waterways that have water flowing through them for part of the year, and have low flows, or dry river beds, for other parts of the year. This means that treatment plants cannot discharge into seasonal rivers for many months out of the year. Read more to find out what these treatment facilities do with their treated water during these dry months.
Napa River
Napa Sanitation District discharges secondary treated wastewater into the Napa River. According to their NPDES permit, Napa Sanitation is allowed to discharge up to 23 MGD (million gallons per day) into the Napa River from November through April. From May through October wastewater is stored onsite in treatment ponds or treated to produce recycled water.
For more information, you can find Napa San’s NPDES Permit here.
Town of Yountville – Public Works
The Town of Yountville discharges up to 2 MGD (million gallons per day) of advanced secondary treated wastewater into the Napa River. Approximately 70% of the total annual effluent produced by The Town of Yountville is used to water 5 vineyards and 1 golf course.
For more information, you can find Yountville’s NPDES Permit here.
City of Calistoga Wastewater Treatment
The City of Calistoga discharges secondary and tertiary treated wastewater. According their NPDES permit, Calistoga is allowed to discharge up to 4 MGD (million gallons per day) into the Napa River from October through May. During the rest of the year, June through September, effluent produced by Calistoga is recycled or stored in effluent storage ponds.
For more information, you can find Calistoga’s NPDES Permit here.
Discharging Into Permanent Rivers
The agencies below are examples of treatment plants that discharge into permanent rivers. The Sacramento River and San Joaquin Rivers are both examples of permanent rivers, which have water in them throughout the year.
However, these two rivers also represent a big portion of the drinking water supplies for the state of California. Read more to find out what treatment plants that discharge into permanent rivers have to do to ensure our waterways are clean and safe.
The Sacramento River
Sacramento Regional Sanitary Wastewater Treatment Plant (Regional San)
The Echo Water Treatment Program for Regional San
Sacramento Regional Sanitary discharges 181 MGD of secondary treated municipal wastewater into the Sacramento River. Regional San serves the Cities of Sacramento, Folsom, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and the communities of Walnut Grove and Cortland. In 2010, prompted by high ammonia, nitrate and pathogen levels, Regional San added enhanced disinfection and filtration for advanced tertiary treatment, The Echo Water Treatment Program.
For more information, you can find Regional San’s NPDES Permit here.
City of Chico – Water Pollution Control Plant
The City of Chico discharges 12 MGD of secondary treated municipal wastewater into the Sacramento River.
For more information, you can find Chico’s NPDES Permit here.
City of Redding – Clear Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
The City of Redding discharges up to 40+ MGD of tertiary treated wastewater into the Sacramento River.
For more information, you can find Redding’s NPDES Permit here.
San Joaquin River
The City of Stockton discharges an average of 51 MGD of tertiary treated municipal wastewater into the San Joaquin River.
For more information, you can find Stockton’s NPDES Permit here.
Discharging Into Deep Ocean Water
Many treatment plants located on the California coast discharge directly into the Pacific Ocean. The discharge permits of deep ocean water tend to be the most reasonable because of depth, temperature, salinity, and the regular movement of ocean water. Read more to find out about what needs to happen to our water when it goes directly into deep marine habitats.
Pacific Ocean
City and County of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco PUC discharges up to 65 MGD of secondary treated effluent into the Pacific Ocean. In addition, there are seven discharge sites offshore for peak wet weather.
For more information, you can find SF PUC’s NPDES Permit here.
Additional Resources
Here you can find information about guidelines for wastewater treatment facilities and what happens to the water produced
Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA)
Established in 1984 BACWA is an organization for Bay Area wastewater treatment facilities.
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The NPDES Permit Program controls water pollution by regulation point sources of discharge pollutants into the Untied States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Examples are municipal waste discharge, agricultural and industrial waste into waters of the United States.
California State Water Quality Control Board
The NPDES Program is a federal program which has been delegated to the Sate of California for implementation through the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards for the State of California.
Regional Water Quality Control Boards
The nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards of California boundaries are based on watersheds and water quality requirements, based on unique differences in climate, topography, geology, and hydrology for each watershed.
Each Regional Water Boards make critical water quality decisions for its region, including setting standards, issuing waste discharge requirements, determining compliance with those requirements, and taking appropriate enforcement actions.
Counties: Del Norte, Glenn, Humbolt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Siskiyou, Sonoma, and Trinity.
Counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Santa Clara(north of Morgan Hill), San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano.
Counties: Santa Clara (south of Morgan Hill), San Mateo (southern portion), Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, Kern (small portion), San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura (northern portion).
Counties: Los Angeles, Ventura, and small portions of Kern and Santa Barbara counties.
Counties: Modoc, Shasta, Lassen, Plumas, Butte, Glen, Colusa, Lake, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Yolo(northeast), Solano (west), Sacramento, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, San Joaquin, Contra Costa (east), Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Kern and very small portions of San Benito and San Luis Obispo counties.
Counties: Modoc (east), Lassen (east side and Eagle Lake), Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Alpine, Mono, Inyo, Kern (east), San Bernardino, and Los Angeles (northeast corner).
Counties: Imperial, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego.
Counties: Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino
Counties: San Diego, Imperial, and Riverside.