Local Wastewater Treatment Facility Honored for Achievements

The Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) is a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility serving over 3.5 million residents and thousands of businesses and industries in Los Angeles County. The facility was recently honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the National Clean Water Act Recognition Award for Outstanding Operations and Maintenance at the Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference in Chicago.

The treatment facility, located in Carson, California, and owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, was given the first place award in the Large Secondary Plant category for “demonstrating outstanding and innovative operations and maintenance practices.” The plant was selected because of its achievements in process control, biosolids management, and pollution prevention.

“One of the key achievements of the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant is its energy self-sufficiency,” said Steve Maguin, the Sanitation Districts Chief Engineer and General Manager. “The plant uses biogas created during the wastewater treatment process to generate 22 MW of electricity, making the plant energy self-sufficient and saving $18 million per year.”

Furthermore, the facility continues to operate in full compliance with all regulatory requirements and is committed to resource conservation by reducing energy usage, employing water conservation methods such as using treated water for plant processes, and converting its fleet of light-duty vehicles to compressed natural gas to lower air emissions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Water Act Recognition Awards Program honors municipalities and industries for outstanding technological achievements or an innovative process in their waste treatment and pollution abatement programs. The program is intended to share with the public the contributions of publicly owned treatment facilities to clean Water. There are over 16,000 publicly owned and 60,000 industrially owned wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S. The Joint Water Pollution Control Plant is one of the largest treatment facilities in the nation.

The Sanitation Districts are a regional agency consisting of 24 independent special districts serving over 5 million people in 78 cities and unincorporated territory within Los Angeles County. The Sanitation Districts protect public health and the environment through innovative and cost-effective wastewater and solid waste management, and in doing so convert waste into resources such as reclaimed water, energy, and recycled materials. The Joint Water Pollution Control Plant is the Sanitation Districts’ largest wastewater treatment facility and is designed to treat 400 million gallons of wastewater per day.