Sewers Carry the Load

Hidden beneath your feet, an intricate web of thousands of miles of sanitary sewers collects wastewater from homes, businesses and industries. Although virtually invisible, this wastewater collection system plays a vital role in protecting public health. In the unincorporated parts of Sacramento County alone, there is enough sewer pipe to span the United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean!

Sewer Maintenance and Operation

Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD), a contributing agency of the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD), maintains and operates sanitary sewers in the urbanized, unincorporated area of Sacramento County, in the cities of Citrus Heights and Elk Grove, and in portions of the cities of Sacramento and Folsom. The cities of Sacramento and Folsom also maintain and operate their own wastewater collection systems, which feed into SRCSD's larger pipes. As well, West Sacramento will be connecting to the SRCSD system during 2007.

Pipes Come in All Sizes

• The smallest sewer pipes, twelve inches or less in diameter, are known as "collectors." Wastewater from homes, businesses, schools—in short, any building—enters the system via these service lines. Each year, more than 40 miles of new collectors are added to the system.

• After leaving the collectors, wastewater flows into a system of “trunk lines”—larger pipes with a diameter greater than 12 inches and a capacity ranging from one to ten million gallons per day (mgd).

• Finally, these trunk lines connect to a central system of giant "interceptors" that carry wastewater directly to our Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Elk Grove, California. The interceptors can be as large as ten feet in diameter — large enough to drive a car through. SRCSD owns and operates the treatment plant and the interceptor system that serves the entire urbanized area of Sacramento County.