Wastewater Collection System
The City owns and operates a Publicly Owned Treatment Works which includes a wastewater collection system that consists of approximately 250 miles of gravity pipelines, ranging from 6 inches to 48 inches in diameter. Dischargers into the wastewater collection system include residential, commercial, and industrial sources thorough approximately 20,000 private lateral connections.
To overcome hydraulic challenges, a portion of the wastewater collection system is diverted to a lift station that receives an average flow of 3.0 Million Gallons per Day (MGD), and has a maximum capacity of 7.8 MGD. The sewage flow from the lift station is pumped through a pressure force main that is 12 and 14 inches in diameter and approximately 3.5 miles in length. Discharges into the wastewater collection system are conveyed to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which was constructed in 1963.
State Water Resources Control Board Order No. WQ 2022-0103-DWQ requires wastewater collection agencies to have a Sewer System Emergency Response Plan (SERP). Under this order, City employees are required to report all wastewater overflows found and to take the appropriate action to secure the wastewater overflow area, properly report to the appropriate regulatory agencies, relieve the cause of the overflow, and ensure that the affected area is cleaned as soon as possible to minimize health hazards to the public and protect the environment. As such, the City’s goal is to respond to sewer system overflows as soon as possible following notification and in accordance with the City’s SERP.