At EID, wastewater management entails making sure that our collection and treatment functions fulfill all regulatory requirements for discharges and to produce recycled water that is used to irrigate front and back yards and commercial and public landscapes, wherever feasible.

The District continues to post significant results in meeting this goal. As examples, we have completed major upgrades at both the Deer Creek and El Dorado Hills wastewater treatment plants. The upgrades enable us to continue to produce recycled water as well as comply with state and federal environmental discharge standards.

Our new Trident filter, backwash tank, and pump station at the El Dorado Hills plant and new, larger wet well and relocated pump at the Deer Creek plant help us increase our recycled water supply, improve our reliability, and comply with stringent water quality regulations — every day. In addition, we are currently designing capacity upgrades at the El Dorado Hills plant to enhance our ability to respond to future demand for wastewater treatment and recycled water. The upgrades and our new initiatives also make us more efficient in meeting customer demand.

We are also working to upgrade and improve our wastewater system in areas where aging infrastructure is at issue. Currently, the District is redesigning it Rancho Ponderosa facilities and completing several improvements to the Mother Lode Force Main.

Recognition of excellence
In 2005, the Sacramento Section of the California Water Environment Association, a group of wastewater management professionals, named EID’s El Dorado Hills wastewater treatment facility “Plant of the Year” for facilities with a capacity of less than five million gallons daily. This marked the fifth year out of the last six that the plant received the award.

Also in 2005, EID was named “Collections System of the Year” for systems with 250 to 500 miles of collection lines.