Facts and Key Statistics
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is a public agency that provides wastewater collection, treatment, disposal, and recycling services for approximately 2.6 million people in central and northwest Orange County. OC San is a special district that is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 25 board members appointed from 20 cities, 4 special districts, and 1 representative from the Orange County Board of Supervisors. OC San owns and operates over 380 miles of regional sewer pipes, 15 pump stations, and two operating facilities that treat wastewater from residential, commercial and industrial sources.
2023-24 Average Daily Flow of Wastewater Received in MGD (million gallons per day)
Plant No. 1 - 124 MGD
Plant No. 2 - 68 MGD
Total 192 MGD
Ocean Monitoring
OC San releases a portion of its treated wastewater into the ocean through a 10-foot diameter offshore pipeline that extends five miles from shore and about 200 feet below the ocean surface. The last mile of the pipe is a diffuser that has 503 portholes through which treated wastewater is slowly released. An abundance of marine life has taken up residence along the pipeline. We regularly monitor the marine life, sediment quality, and water quality within 185 square miles of ocean off Huntington Beach.
Biosolids Recycling
OC San generates about 540 tons per day or about 200,000 tons per year of biosolids. Biosolids are the highly treated, safe, nutrient rich, organic material derived from the wastewater treatment process.
Budget and Rate Information 2024-2025
- 663 full-time authorized staff
- $455.7 million – Current operating and capital improvement budget
- $371 – Annual regional single family sewer fee
- $6,388 – Average connection fee for a single family (3-bedroom) residence
- $3,445.75 – Estimated cost to collect, treat and dispose of one million gallons of sewage
Energy Production
OC San generates an average of 8.1 million kilowatt hours of energy per month from burning natural gas and methane gas (biogas) which is byproduct of the wastewater treatment process. The net power savings from OC San generated electricity is about $5.6 million in power that would otherwise be purchased from Southern California Edison.
Water Reclamation
OC San supplies the Orange County Water District with more than 170 million gallons a day of treated wastewater which is then reclaimed and reused for treatment processes, landscaping, injected into the seawater intrusion barrier to protect groundwater, and for the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). The GWRS produces enough new water for nearly 1 million residents in north and central Orange County.