Sustainability & Innovation
Our New Evolution in Wastewater Treatment Is Now Complete
In spring 2023, Regional San completed the EchoWater Project—a monumental, decade-long expansion of our treatment plant that takes our region’s wastewater treatment to a whole new level.
Water Recycling Program
Reusing our highly treated wastewater for beneficial non-potable uses
Recycled water is treated wastewater that has undergone additional filtration and disinfection processes to make the water safe for non-potable (non-drinking) uses. Since April 2003, Regional San’s cutting-edge Water Recycling Program (WRP) has provided an environmentally responsible and safe water supply for non-potable purposes, such as landscape irrigation, industrial uses, and environmental restoration.
Biogas Recycling
Harnessing methane from our treatment process
Regional San’s biogas recycling program is just one of the ways Regional San works to reduce impacts to the environment by innovatively reusing valuable resources. Methane gas, or “biogas,” is a by-product of the solids digestion process that is used to produce steam and electricity at the Carson Ice-Gen Project, a cogeneration facility owned by Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and located at the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility.
Biosolids Recycling
Turning solids from the treatment process into beneficial uses
Regional San has developed a diversified biosolids management program that is both environmentally friendly and of high value to ratepayers. This two-pronged program consists of safely and effectively:
- Recycling biosolids into environmentally beneficial products
- Applying biosolids to land disposal units
Each year, Regional San’s treatment plant processes about 26,000 dry tons of biosolids, making the program one of the largest producers of biosolids in California. Approximately 70 percent of those biosolids are treated and then injected into on-site land disposal units, while the remainder is beneficially recycled at our Biosolids Recycling Facility (a partnership with Synagro).
Solar Energy Project
Regional San constructed a solar energy array at the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility. The solar array is one of the largest located at a wastewater treatment plant in the nation. The solar array offers a clean and sustainable energy source with several benefits.
The project is administered through a power purchase agreement with Tesla, who constructed and owns the facility. Beginning in 2018, all the power generated from the system will be sold to Regional San at a fixed rate for 25-years.
Project AWE
Regional San in partnership with Sacramento Splash (Splash) has opened the doors of the historic Nicolaus Dairy to students throughout the Sacramento region.
The Nicolaus Dairy is now home to Project AWE, the Sacramento region’s latest immersive educational experience offering hands-on field trip experiences in the areas of Agriculture, Water, Energy, and the Environment (AWE).
The Confluence Regional Partnership Program
A Grant Program of Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and Sacramento Area Sewer District
Much like Sacramento’s two rivers, which join together in a “confluence” to create something even bigger, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) and the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer) developed the Confluence Regional Partnership Program to bring together ideas and efforts that advance environmental, educational, and economic vitality in the Sacramento region. Through this program, funding may be available to projects that help the community and advance Regional San’s and SacSewer’s missions, visions, values, goals, and objectives.
