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...

On December 19th, the State Water Board made California history by granting approval for direct potable reuse regulations, also known as DPR. California’s water and wastewater associations are joining forces to celebrate this momentous achievement. United in the spirit of ‘One Water’ we are proudly working together to build California’s utilities of the future. Following...

CWEA asked if the State Water Board’s Office of Operator Certification could share the publicly available pass/fail rates for the computerized certification exams, and they have graciously provided the data. How are California’s wastewater operators doing on their exams? The OOC reports, “The 6-month comparison of CBT pass/fail rates is consistent with historical average passing...

CWEA’s Laboratory Committee Chair Josie Teller from the City of Davis led an effort to craft a comment letter regarding the State Water Board draft regulations to raise ELAP fees. In summary, CWEA’s comment letter recommends: Request to Delay the Adoption and Initiate a Collaborative Process Regulatory Language Needs Clarification Reporting Mechanism (tools) Request to...

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...

Letter was sent to the State Water Board on April 27, 2023 On behalf of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), the American Water Works Association California-Nevada Section (CA-NV AWWA), and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), we appreciate the opportunity to comment on the annual ELAP...

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?...

As California has struggled with drought, Governor Gavin Newsom’s fundamental solution: find more water by diversifying the state’s public water supply. Because of the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, one of the most frequently mentioned sources is seawater desalination. A few communities are trying it, despite environmental concerns. But another potential source gets less public...

The State Water Resources Control Board adopted a statewide Sanitary Sewer System General Order that implements and expands policies to address statewide water infrastructure needs. The new order replaces an existing order and expands regulatory requirements to include privately owned systems, at the discretion of the applicable California Regional Water Quality Control Board. It also...

Coverage of PFAS is supported by Carollo. In 2018, the media seized on a story about a small dairy farm in Maine that was forced to no longer produce milk due to sludge and biosolids spread on the farm as fertilizer under a state-sponsored program from 1983 to 2004. Wastewater utilities were quickly blamed for...

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...