Wastewater Treatment Process

General Information

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:

  • Incoming wastewater, or influent, is screened and flows through a primary sedimentation process. This allows most of the solid material to settle to the bottom of tanks and be removed.
  • Next, oxygen is added to the wastewater to grow naturally occurring microscopic organisms. These organisms eat particles in the wastewater, thereby removing them from the solution.
  • The wastewater then travels to secondary clarifiers where the organisms settle to the bottom and are removed, leaving cleaned water.
  • Next, the water is chlorinated to remove any remaining harmful organisms. During this time, the wastewater travels through a two-mile “outfall” to the Sacramento River, near the town of Freeport, California.
  • Before entering the river, sulfur dioxide is added to neutralize the chlorine making the water safe for the environment.

Take a Tour to Learn More!

Sign up for an in-person tour or take a Virtual Tour right here online!

The facility in 2022

The facility under construction in 1980.

Referring Pages

Log in