About Us

About Us

Overview

Regional San owns and operates the regional wastewater conveyance system and the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility located near Elk Grove, California. We serve a population of about 1.6 million in the region.

Our Mission

Regional San protects public health and the environment by conveying, treating, and recovering resources from wastewater responsibly and cost-effectively.

Our Vision

Regional San is a leader in environmental stewardship and a trusted partner in regional sustainability.

At Regional San, we provide wastewater conveyance and treatment services to residential, industrial and commercial customers throughout unincorporated Sacramento County; the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento, and West Sacramento; and the communities of Courtland. Locke, and Walnut Grove. (View a map of our Service Area.)

The wastewater is collected from customers’ homes and businesses via sewer collection pipes operated by one of four local sewer agencies. These pipes connect to our network of 169 miles of interceptor pipelines, which convey the wastewater to the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility. There, approximately 130 million gallons of wastewater are treated each day and safely discharged to the Sacramento River.

Regional San was formed in 1973, and in 1982, after years of construction, the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility began service. Regional San is governed by a 17-member Board of Directors representing all of the jurisdictions we serve throughout the region.

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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.

General Information

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:

General Information
Regional San interceptor system (click on pdf below for full-size map)

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).

General Information

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.

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