2021 WDR Regulatory Updates

This is a reminder that the Sanitary Sewer System Annual Report is due on April 1, 2024, as specified in section 3.9 (Annual Report) of Attachment E1 (Notification, Monitoring, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements) of the Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order (link: Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order.) General Order, Section 5.11(System Performance Analysis), outlines the requirements for including...

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts manage the sewage for 5.4 million people and serve 78 cities in Los Angeles County. The Districts own and operate a regional sewer system that receives sewage from the cities and unincorporated county areas within our service area. These flows are treated at their treatment plants throughout the County....

Click image for a larger view. Photos by Jim Aanderud, SSCSC (Southern Sections Collection Systems Committee of CWEA). All photos posted with permission of the photographer.  

The TCP Executive Committee has been working with a team of subject matter experts to evaluate the impact of the new Waste Discharge Requirements Sanitary Sewer System General Order (WDR SSS) on the Collection System Maintenance exams and to update the exams to reflect the changes. This post is to inform the wastewater community of...

Visit CWEA’s WDR resource page supported by West Coast Safety. According to State Water Board ELAP staff members the decision to require accreditation in specific field of accreditations (FOAs) is determined by the WDR program and ELAP can provide some general guidance. The reason that ELAP has two distinct FOA tables for microbiological methods is because...

View CWEA’s WDR resource page > After four years of hosting meetings and conducting surveys with the public, wastewater stakeholders, and wastewater agencies, the California State Water Resources Control Board has adopted new regulations affecting more than 1,200 publicly operated collection systems with greater than one mile of sewers discharging to a publicly owned wastewater...

View CWEA’s WDR resource page > In 2017, CWEA started work under a Memorandum of Agreement with the State Water Board to collaborate on providing training for collection system professionals. The collaboration resulted in a series of CWEA workshops, webinars, and events. At the same time, the State Water Board began the process of drafting...

View CWEA’s WDR resource page > Passed in December 2022, the new Sanitary Sewer System General Order incorporates several changes wastewater professionals called for during this update of the 2006 Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR). The new regs include new reporting and planning requirements. They were developed over five years during an exhaustive process involving dozens...

View CWEA’s WDR resource page > In December 2022, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted statewide Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order 2022-0103-DWQ that replaces the existing statewide Order 2006-0003-DWQ as of its effective date of June 5, 2023. The existing Order 2006-0003-DWQ (also referred to as the “WDRs”), and existing regulatory coverage for sewer...

Visit CWEA’s WDR training and resources page > Having been an inspector for the State Water Board’s Office of Enforcement for a decade with over 100 collection system inspections, as well as an independent consultant for more than a dozen years, CWEA members often ask me: What does Emergency Response Plan (ERP) compliance look like?...

The CWEA Collection Systems Committee is working on multiple strategies to increase the amount of training across California. We have heard clearly from members it’s important to help the next generation of professionals succeed. CWEA proudly offers voluntary certification programs for wastewater professionals. Each program includes increasingly advanced Grade options that demonstrate mastery of new...

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (Sanitation Districts) protect public health and the environment by providing wastewater management for 5.5 million people. The agency operates and maintains a regional wastewater collection system, which includes approximately 1,400 miles of sewers, 48 pumping plants and 11 wastewater treatment plants that convey and treat about half the wastewater...

State Water Resources Control Board NOTICE OF PUBLIC WORKSHOP Making Conservation a California a Way of Life: How forthcoming efficiency standards may impact local wastewater management Wednesday, May 11, 2022 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. PST Registration (Remote Participation Only) Apply to Speak – Virtual Speaker Card Form NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the State...

CWEA is proud to announce the state winners of the Annual Awards program. These individuals and agencies were selected by CWEA’s Committees from over 172 applications. “It’s an incredibly exciting time to work in the wastewater industry. From recycled water to green energy to resource recovery, these award winners demonstrate they can step up, work together,...

Relevant session at AC22 in Sacramento: Join us for the Sewer System Management track on Wednesday, April 13th The State Water Resources Control Board will be hearing oral comments on the proposed statewide Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order reissuance at its March 15, 2022 Board meeting. The agenda for the March 15-16, 2022 Board meeting...

Pump system misconceptions create missed opportunities for greater efficiency and cost savings.  With pumps typically accounting for 40% of the energy use in industrial fluid systems, facilities cannot afford misunderstandings around the technology and its requirements. Whether for food and beverage production, wastewater disposal, or anything in between, designing your fluid system with these five...

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is proposing an agreement with the City and County of San Francisco that would require a $600 million investment to expand the capacity of sewer systems in three low-lying neighborhoods. Sewer overflows in these areas occur frequently after heavy rainstorms, posing risks to human health and...

View all of CWEA’s coverage of the wipes crisis > Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), today, joined with Congresswoman Lisa McClain (MI-10) to introduce bipartisan legislation to create a national standard for the labeling of non-flushable wet wipes. This common-sense standard would address the growing problem of these wipes being flushed into and creating obstructions in...

The  California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), Central Valley Clean Water Agencies (CVCWA), California Water Environment Association (CWEA) and Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (SCAP) submitted comments to the Department of Water Resources regarding their Report to the Legislature on Indoor Residential Water Use Studies. At the outset, we recognize, appreciate, and...

A team of researchers from California State University and the University of California are assessing the economic and environmental impacts of forthcoming water use efficiency standards (AB 1668-SB 606) on urban retail water suppliers. This assessment is funded by the State of California through a mutual agreement between the SWRCB and California State University. The...

Healthy Davis Together wastewater monitoring operations, led by UC Davis researchers with support from the city’s Department of Public Works, has deployed newly arrived wastewater sampling equipment to 15 additional sample collection locations (nodes), expanding monitoring to more neighborhoods served by the city wastewater collection system. The virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) can be shed in...

Costa Mesa Sanitary District’s Board of Directors announced today that it has successfully defended itself in a federal lawsuit filed by a group that accused CMSD of violating the Clean Water Act. On May 11, 2020, California River Watch (CRW), a non-profit organization located in Sebastopol, California, served CMSD with a 60-day. Notice of Violations...

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) has issued a Public Notice announcing the release of the informal staff draft statewide Sanitary Sewer System General Order and two upcoming public workshops. State Water Board staff will be conducting two virtual public workshops to summarize the informal staff draft Order on the following dates:...

Sancon was contracted by Steve Bubalo Construction company to perform the 48” cured-in-place-pipeliner for Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts project. Scope of the project included CIPP lining of 595 LF of 48” CIPP, a portion of which, was through a siphon. Over the course of the job, multiple installations were performed to comply with LACSD and...

From the International Water Services Flushability Group… Products that meet the IWSFG flushability specifications are unlikely to cause harm to wastewater conveyance systems or treatment plants.  The IWSFG flushability specifications are available for use by product manufacturers, governmental organizations, and other entities that want to determine if products that are flushed are safe for wastewater...

From the State Water Board… The City of Mount Shasta has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle an Administrative Civil Liability complaint for multiple sanitary sewer overflows from its collection system and for violating effluent limitations at its wastewater treatment plant. The overflows, which occurred between October 2014 and April 2017, primarily were caused...

A settlement agreement between the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and the city of Victorville has been reached and imposes a $1.5 million fine on the City for violating the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) general waste discharge requirements. The $1.5 million settlement fine addresses violations from six untreated sewage spills to Mojave River tributaries,...

The city of Galt has agreed to pay $110,715 to settle a case that began two years ago when 301,000 gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into Dead Man Gulch, a tributary of South Laguna Creek. The spill occurred during a power outage when a faulty alarm system failed to alert city staff about malfunctioning pumps...

DKF Solutions Group has announced the upcoming release of a new reference guide for wastewater collection workers titled “Notes from the Field: Practical Tips and Best Practices for Collection System Operators.” The book was written in collaboration with leading industry experts Andy Morrison, Lenny Rather, and Sam Rose. Wastewater Collection System Operators often become frustrated...

As more municipalities turn to wastewater monitoring for early detection of COVID-19, these three companies are uniquely positioned to provide an end-to-end solution to improve the process. In-Situ is a leading manufacturer of environmental water monitoring equipment and serves the wastewater monitoring market through its ChemScan line of analyzers and related products. GT Molecular, has developed a...

View all wipes stories > California’s sewers were built to handle pee, poo and toilet paper, but increasingly they’re being called upon to carry an ever-growing array of plastics and trash people flush down the toilet. Wastewater systems across California, and around the world, are becoming solid waste debris conveyance systems. Condoms, feminine hygiene products,...

Info from CDPH safety bulletin issued May 2020… Background The use of CIPP for sewer line and culvert rehabilitation is widespread throughout the country and abroad. Styrene-based resins are the most widely used. There is a possibility for chemical releases with CIPP processes. In addition to styrene, recent studies have shown numerous volatile chemicals being...

By Sam Rose, Superintendent, South Placer Municipal Utility District About South Placer Municipal Utility District  South Placer Municipal Utility District (District) is a sewer collection system agency that was founded in 1956 and serves the City of Rocklin, Town of Loomis, the communities of Penryn, Newcastle and a portion of Granite Bay, California.  Its service area is 31 square miles with a population...

  COVID-19 in CA free Webinar – Collection Systems and Coronavirus Pandemic was held on Wednesday, April 15th. The webinar is supported by HDR. Phil Scott and Sergio Ramirez are utility leaders with the West Bay Sanitary District in the Bay Area. They discuss the procedures and PPE protections their agency is using. They discuss...

CWEA is proud to announce the state winners of the Annual Awards program. These individuals and agencies were selected by CWEA’s Committees from over 300 applications. Due to the postponement of AC20, we will present the award plaques during the rescheduled Annual Conference on October 27-30 in Reno. Special thanks to Xylem as the lead supporter for the...

March 2020 may go down as one the biggest moments in the wastewater professions’ battle against “flushable” wipes. A combination of the coronavirus pandemic, TP shortage, press release from the State Water Board and media coverage of sewer back-ups in Redding and Las Galinas caused the wipes clog pipes topic to go viral. The result...

Written and photography by: Senior Airman Colville McFee, 9th Reconnaissance Wing Beale Air Force Base, Calif. – The 9th Civil Engineering Squadron (9CES) provides many skills and mission essential aspects such as, airfield maintenance, fire emergency services, explosive ordnance disposal and utility system construction to name few around the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. With the COVID-19 pandemic...

While the TP is scarce, however you choose to wipe, make sure you properly dispose of your items in the trash can ????. The ONLY 3️⃣ things that belong in the toilet are Pee, Poo toilet Paper. #WipesClogPipes #PeePootoiletPaper #DontRushToFlush pic.twitter.com/3VAlpNChtJ — RanchoWater (@RanchoWater) April 2, 2020 Way to go CWEA member Tony Martinez. Watch...

We are gathering photos of safety items for wastewater workers. To share one, please email a photo to [email protected] Several CWEA members have asked about coronavirus and working around wastewater. According to WEF, the scientific community has found no evidence yet of viable COVID-19 virus in wastewater systems. While there is still a lot we...

  View this post on Instagram   Wastewater Utility Manager Vince Ines shares, “Our dedicated employees at the wastewater treatment plant are trained for emergency events such as COVID-19 and are prepared to handle these situations”. Learn how you can do your part to protect vital infrastructure! #venturawater #cityofventura #stayventurastrong A post shared by Ventura...

News from California manufacturer SmartCover. SmartCover Offering a COVID-19 Relief Package Remote Sewer Monitoring at NO COST In response to the strain on collection systems, staff and resources,  SmartCover is providing a COVID-19 Relief Package to make remote sewer asset monitoring available at no charge. During this time of uncertainty, our role as public health...

Announcement from the State Water Resources Control Board While the State Water Board and other public agencies encourage Californians to follow the Centers for Disease Control recommendations to clean surfaces with disinfecting wipes to reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is important to discard those items in the trash, not the toilet. Flushing wipes, paper towels and...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > On 3/17/20 OSHA released new guidance for COVID-19 and workplace safety. Download the OSHA guidance > There is not specific water/wastewater worker safety in this guidebook, but there is detailed info on workplace safety. They’ve broken guidance into workplace categories based on exposure risk:...

Article from Pete DeMarco, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Research at IAPMO. Pete looks at the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) from one person to another on different floors of a Hong Kong high-rise. Sadly, with the current coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong, history seems to have repeated itself. According to the Associated Press, a 2016...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > From the World Health Organization This Technical Brief supplements existing IPC documents by referring to and summarizing WHO guidance on water, sanitation and health care waste which is relevant for viruses (including coronaviruses). This Technical Brief is written in particular for water and sanitation...

This webinar was hosted by WRF. To watch the recorded webinar, complete the registration form and you will be taken to the recorded webinar. Register and watch > The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a member of the Coronavirus family that was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in...

WEF Field Guide to COVID-19 > Wastewater Treatment and COVID-19 Coronaviruses are susceptible to the same disinfection conditions in the healthcare setting as other viruses, so current disinfection conditions in wastewater treatment facilities is expected to be sufficient. This includes conditions for practices such as oxidation with hypochlorite (i.e., chlorine bleach) and peracetic acid, as...

WEF Field Guide to COVID-19 >     How to avoid Coronavirus? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are maintaining a webpage on prevention and treatment of coronavirus. In short, the prevention guideance is the same for avoiding the flu. CDC Prevention guidance > Do Wastewater Workers Need to Take Special Precautions? Based...

WEF Field Guide to COVID-19 > View recorded webinar > This webcast aired on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 2:30 PM Eastern. Please be sure to verify the most current information. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness, referred to as COVID-19. It was first detected in...

Coverage of asset management stories are support by MentorAPM The Key to Transforming Utility Performance Water and wastewater utilities across the country are under enormous pressure today. In 2017, the Infrastructure Report Card assigned our nation’s wastewater systems a grade of D+, reflecting decades of insufficient investment to keep up with growth and expansion. It...

From ABC7 San Francisco. Featuring CWEA member Eileen White, Director of Wastewater for EBMUD. 

AC20 HOT TOPIC PREVIEW THURSDAY TRACK: Winning the Fight Against “Flushable” Wipes! November 21, 2019 The Honorable Alan Lowenthal United States House of Representatives The Honorable Tom Udall United States Senate Dear Senator Udall and Representative Lowenthal: On behalf of the undersigned coalition of public agencies providing wastewater, water recycling and biosolids management services in...

When I was a youngster growing up in Los Angeles, my family had a neighbor and friend who was an engineer working for the City of Los Angeles.  “Bud”, as he liked to be called, told a story of how one of the main sewers in Los Angeles was inspected by boat.  He described how...

Paul Clarke, Director of Operations and Water Quality Twenty-two years at Padre Dam Municipal Water District Marine Corps – four years Paul Clarke is the Director of Operations and Water Quality at Padre Dam Municipal Water District. He became interested in water while serving in the Marine Corps, where his platoon operated and maintained reverse...

You never know what you will find when researching CWEA’s history!  The following article describes how researching the development of CWEA’s Local Sections and collection systems maintenance training led to finding an unexpected classic Hollywood “A-List” connection to our Association. A Certification Question The CWEA History Committee elected to use the following old collection system...

Originally published on LinkedIn, reprinted here with permission… Ahhh. That feeling that comes over you when you come home after a hard days work, plopping yourself onto that every so comfy couch that envelops all of your achy tired bones. Your twin toddlers come running out of the rear of the house, screaming with joy...

  This article was produced and published by the Water Education Foundation as part of its Western Water news. The Foundation can be found at www.watereducation.org. Our thanks to WEF for permission to republish their article. By Gary Pitzer Water Education Foundation WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Lower flows damage equipment, concentrate waste and stink up neighborhoods;...

Many wipes marketed as flushable are an increasing problem for property owners, sewer systems and ratepayers, AB 1672 seeks to require proper labeling The California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) sponsored Assembly Bill 1672 to require proper labeling of wipe products. The Mammoth Community Water District (District) supports AB 1672 and CASA’s efforts to minimize...

A press release from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board… Ten public agencies suspected of discharging human fecal waste into the Lower San Diego River and its tributaries today were ordered to investigate and identify the sources of the harmful material and report the extent of their involvement to the San Diego Water Board....

Silicon Valley Clean Water Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade Program By Janet McGovern When employees go to work three years from now in a new pre-treatment facility that is being built at the wastewater treatment plant in Redwood Shores, it will actually be a case of déjà vu all over again, thanks to an innovative...

By Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director National Stewardship Action Council This bill is currently on the suspense file of the California State Assembly, and we will find out TOMORROW whether it moves forward to the Assembly Floor for a full vote by May 31.  The opposition is lobbying hard against this simple yet important bill and...

A letter to CWEA members from CWEA’s President Collection Systems Committee Chair… Dear CWEA members, CASA is urgently seeking help from water professionals and agencies for wipes legislation they are supporting. We want to pass along their request on this important issue. CASA is sponsoring AB 1672 (Bloom). The bill would require proper labeling for wipes...

“Atmospheric River” is a meteorological term coined in the 1990s that’s recently entered common public usage. They are bands of concentrated moisture traveling in the air over a region.  Atmospheric rivers can contain as much moisture as major river, such as the Amazon. On February 5th, the Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes...

Coverage of asset management topics is supported by MentorAPM  November 14th, 2018 Uncovering Sewer Laterals: How to Optimize Your Lateral Strategy Managing sewer laterals is challenging. Learn about the “Lateral Strategy Toolbox”, hear agency stories about success and challenges, and find ways to maximize the benefits of improving laterals – while balancing the impacts to...

It’s the new “abnormal” as Governor Jerry Brown calls it. Bigger and more intense fires have killed more people in California and destroyed more property than ever before. Even as the fires are put out, water professionals know there’s a new threat. Floods. Fires and floods happen so often throughout California’s history, some regions have...

Coverage of the wipes issue is supported by Aqualitec. Press release from INDA… INDA and EDANA, the leading global trade associations representing consumer wipes manufacturers and supply chains, announce publication of an update to their strict guidelines for labeling of non-flushable wipes and for assessing the flushability of disposable nonwoven wipes. New Labeling Guidance for Non-Flushables...

Dear Fellow CWEA Member, 2017 will go down in the California history books as an incredibly challenging year. January 2017 started with record breaking floods; February saw the dam spillway collapse; two of the State’s largest fires in history occurred in October and December; and now, January 2018 begins with tragic mud slides along Southern...

This story was originally posted on the Woodard & Curran blog.  CWEA’s coverage of wipes issues is supported by Aqualitec.  Those of us who have witnessed the destruction non-woven wipes are having on our pipes and pumps understand the impact a simple word like ‘flushable’ can have. Since the mid-2000’s, the wastewater industry has been battling...

The Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.) filed an amicus brief in support of a District of Columbia law to regulate disposable wipes. This law, the Nonwoven Disposable Products Act of 2016, aims to protect sewer systems from backups by requiring a regulation that defines the...

At the June 29, 2017 LABS dinner meeting, Russ Vakharia of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) gave a presentation on the construction of a 7.5-foot inside diameter (ID) replacement sewer in metropolitan Los Angeles County. The talk highlighted the many challenges encountered during the construction, including tunneling under public and private property, tunneling...

  As the problem of “flushable” wipes clogging sewer pipes and pumps gets worse – every sewer agency is on its own in developing a public outreach campaign to share with people exactly what they should and should not flush down the toilet. Clogged sewer lines were becoming a challenge for City of Santa Rosa crews, so their...

Support for coverage of safety issues in provided by ehs  According to a Purdue Engineering Department study released last month there are potentially volatile organic compounds and other toxic gasses in the steam venting from the cured-in-place-pipe process. Are workers and the public safe? From Purdue’s news release:  New research is calling for immediate safeguards...