About Us
Our History
Regional San: The Early Years
After World War II, Sacramento grew rapidly, and wastewater treatment plants popped up along the Sacramento and American Rivers to serve the growing population. In the 1960s, recreational interests and water supply needs began to prompt concerns about wastewater discharge into local waterways. By the 1970s, more than 20 separate wastewater collection and treatment systems were supporting 600,000 people in the region.
Wastewater Treatment Process
The EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility employs reliable treatment processes that mirror nature’s handling of wastewater, with an important advantage: What nature might take months to complete, the facility accomplishes in about eight hours.
The following important steps take place during the wastewater treatment process:
Conveyance System
Thousands of miles of underground pipes transport wastewater from homes and businesses throughout the Sacramento region to the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility in Elk Grove.
The largest of these pipes, called ”interceptors,” are owned by Regional San. There are approximately 111 miles of gravity interceptors hidden beneath the streets of Sacramento and Yolo counties. Ranging in size from 36 to 144 inches in diameter, each interceptor conveys at least 10 million gallons of wastewater per day (mgd).
Contributing Agencies
Regional San’s contributing agencies include the Sacramento Area Sewer District and the cities of Folsom, Sacramento and West Sacramento. These agencies collect and channel wastewater to Regional San’s interceptor pipelines. The interceptor pipelines transport the wastewater to the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility in Elk Grove, where wastewater is treated each day and then safely discharged to the Sacramento River.
To learn more about how Regional San works with its contributing agencies, explore our Guide to the Sacramento Region’s Sewer Service.
