In December, the Regional Water Quality Control Board approved our Waste Discharge Requirements and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the City of Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility. The new permit will take effect in February for a five-year term. They also approved the Waste Discharge and Water Reclamation Requirements (GRRP) for the Pure Water Soquel Groundwater Replenishment Reuse Project.

Our Laboratory & Environmental Compliance Manager Akin Babatola is interviewed in this podcast on our lab’s efforts and contribution to the National Wastewater Surveillance (NWSS) that CDC and WEF have led since the beginning of the epidemic. Click the graphic below to listen.

We are proud that our City Environmental Laboratory was one of 16 laboratories across the country selected for USEPA and NIST's successful validation testing in the development of a standard to improve pollution measurements in recreational waters. This new "NIST SRM 2917" can also be used to support storm water management, food production monitoring, wastewater surveillance and outbreak exposure route identification. This successful work has been accepted for publication in the foremost technical journal for water research - Water Research 225 (2022) 119162. Read more.

Wastewater SCAN Dashboard of SARS-CoV-2. Through community wastewater partnerships, see SARS-CoV-2  levels for Santa Cruz and other communities.

The Laboratories Community of Practice (CoP) in cooperation with the CDC and FDA have provided COVID-19 wastewater surveillance national dashboards: COVID Data Tracker for Wastewater Surveillance; FDA's COVID WWS data dashboard.

Outfall Leak Study

Dave Martin, Environmental Compliance Inspector and PhD presented our Outfall Leak Study at the 2024 Ocean Science Conference in San Diego. This study plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. Conducted by the City's Environmental Compliance Inspectors, the study resulted in significant cost savings and enhanced our assets and skillsets for future related assignments. Here is a link to his presentation.

Food Service Facility Program

Provides inspection, sampling and control of commercial and industrial establishments for the limit discharge of harmful components in the sewage system and the sanitary rainwater drainage system. Wastewater discharge problems allow industrial discharges. Problems quotes and quotes about fines for code violations. This program is a requirement of the State of California and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. 

Video PSA:  The 3 "P"s to keep your plumbing & sewer system working well.  In Spanish.

Video PSA:  So-called "Flushable" Wipes Clog Pipes: Do Not Flush!  In Spanish

Our "Think Before You Flush" brochure describes the elements that clog drains causing unnecessary headaches for residents and businesses.

This includes “disposable wipes” - the biggest problem for sewer backups in our community. They should never be flushed - even if the package says "flushable."

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