HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-19-2025 Special Board Meeting Complete Agenda Packet - Strat Plan Workshop #1
SPECIAL NOTICE
PUBLIC ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION AT PUBLIC MEETINGS
Special Board of Directors Meeting – Strategic Plan Workshop #1
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
5:00 p.m.
Your participation is always welcome. OC San offers several ways in which to interact during meetings. You will find information as to these opportunities below.
IN-PERSON MEETING ATTENDANCE
You may attend the meeting in-person at the following location: Orange County Sanitation District
Headquarters
18480 Bandilier Circle Fountain Valley, CA 92708 ONLINE MEETING PARTICIPATION
You may join the meeting live via Teams on your computer or similar device or web browser by using the link below: Click here to join the meeting
We suggest testing joining a Teams meeting on your device prior to the commencement of the meeting. For recommendations, general guidance on using Teams, and instructions on joining a Teams meeting, please click here.
Please mute yourself upon entry to the meeting. Please raise your hand if you wish to speak
during the public comment section of the meeting. The Clerk of the Board will call upon you by using the name you joined with. Meeting attendees are not provided the ability to make a presentation during the meeting. Please
contact the Clerk of the Board at least 48 hours prior to the meeting if you wish to present any
items. Additionally, camera feeds may be controlled by the meeting moderator to avoid inappropriate content.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING BY TELEPHONE To join the meeting from your phone: Dial (213) 279-1455
When prompted, enter the Phone Conference ID: 622 777 905#
All meeting participants may be muted during the meeting to alleviate background noise. If you are muted, please use *6 to unmute. You may also mute yourself on your device.
Please raise your hand to speak by use *5, during the public comment section of the meeting.
The Clerk of the Board will call upon you by using the last 4 digits of your phone number as identification. NOTE: All attendees will be disconnected from the meeting at the beginning of Closed
Session. If you would like to return to the Open Session portion of the meeting, please login or dial-in to the Teams meeting again and wait in the Lobby for admittance. WATCH THE MEETING ONLINE
The meeting will be available for online viewing at:
https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx SUBMIT A COMMENT
You may submit your comments and questions in writing for consideration in advance of the meeting by using the eComment feature available online at: https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx or sending them to OCSanClerk@ocsan.gov with the subject line “PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM # (insert the item number relevant to your comment)”
or “PUBLIC COMMENT NON-AGENDA ITEM”.
You may also submit comments and questions for consideration during the meeting by using the eComment feature available online at: https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. The eComment feature will be available for the duration of the meeting.
All written public comments will be provided to the legislative body and may be read into the record or compiled as part of the record.
For any questions and/or concerns, please contact the Clerk of the Board’s office at
714-593-7433. Thank you for your interest in OC San!
March 12, 2025
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – 5:00 P.M.
Headquarters 18480 Bandilier Circle Fountain Valley, CA 92708 ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Your participation is always welcome. Specific information as to how to participate in this meeting is detailed on the Special Notice attached to this agenda. In general, OC San offers several ways in which to interact during this meeting: you may participate in person, join the meeting live via Teams on your computer or similar device or web browser, join the meeting live via telephone, view the meeting online, and/or submit comments for consideration before or during the meeting. The Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Sanitation District will be held at the above location and in the manner indicated on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT Effective 2/11/2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Complete Roster
AGENCY/CITIES ACTIVE DIRECTOR ALTERNATE DIRECTOR
Anaheim
Carlos A. Leon
Ryan Balius
Brea Christine Marick Cecilia Hupp
Buena Park Joyce Ahn Lamiya Hoque
Cypress Scott Minikus Bonnie Peat
Fountain Valley Glenn Grandis Ted Bui
Fullerton Jamie Valencia Shana Charles
Garden Grove Stephanie Klopfenstein Cindy Ngoc Tran
Huntington Beach Pat Burns Gracey Van Der Mark
Irvine Melinda Liu Kathleen Treseder
La Habra Jose Medrano Rose Espinoza
La Palma Debbie Baker Vikesh Patel
Los Alamitos Jordan Nefulda Tanya Doby
Newport Beach Erik Weigand Michelle Barto
Orange Jon Dumitru John Gyllenhammer
Placentia Chad Wanke Ward Smith
Santa Ana Johnathan Ryan Hernandez Jessie Lopez
Seal Beach Lisa Landau Ben Wong
Stanton David Shawver John D. Warren
Tustin Ryan Gallagher Austin Lumbard
Villa Park Jordan Wu Kelly McBride
Sanitary/Water Districts
Costa Mesa Sanitary District Bob Ooten
Art Perry
Midway City Sanitary District Andrew Nguyen Tyler Diep
Irvine Ranch Water District John Withers Dan Ferons
Yorba Linda Water District Tom Lindsey Gene Hernandez
County Areas
Board of Supervisors Doug Chaffee Janet Nguyen
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Special Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 5:00 PM
Board Room
Headquarters
18480 Bandilier Circle
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE DISABLED: If you require any special disability related accommodations,
please contact the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) Clerk of the Board’s office at (714) 593-7433 at
least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type
of accommodation requested.
AGENDA POSTING: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2, this
agenda has been posted outside OC San's Headquarters located at 18480 Bandilier Circle, Fountain Valley,
California, and on the OC San’s website at www.ocsan.gov not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and
time above. All public records relating to each agenda item, including those distributed less than 72 hours
prior to the meeting to a majority of the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection with the Clerk of
the Board.
AGENDA DESCRIPTION: The agenda provides a brief general description of each item of business to be
considered or discussed. The recommended action does not indicate what action will be taken. The Board of
Directors may take any action which is deemed appropriate.
MEETING RECORDING: A recording of this meeting is available within 24 hours after adjournment of the
meeting at https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx or by contacting the Clerk of the Board.
NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for a Committee or Board Meeting, the item must be
submitted to the Clerk of the Board: Kelly A. Lore, MMC, (714) 593-7433 / klore@ocsan.gov at least 14 days
before the meeting. For any questions on the agenda, Board members may contact staff at:
General Manager: Rob Thompson, rthompson@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7110
Asst. General Manager: Lorenzo Tyner, ltyner@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7550
Director of Communications: Jennifer Cabral, jcabral@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7581
Director of Engineering: Mike Dorman, mdorman@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7014
Director of Environmental Services: Lan Wiborg, lwiborg@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7450
Director of Finance: Wally Ritchie, writchie@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7570
Director of Human Resources: Laura Maravilla, lmaravilla@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7007
Director of Operations & Maintenance: Riaz Moinuddin, rmoinuddin@ocsan.gov / (714) 593-7269
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Special Meeting Agenda Wednesday, March 19, 2025
CALL TO ORDER
Board Chairman Ryan Gallagher
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Your participation is always welcome. Specific information as to how to participate in a meeting is detailed in the
Special Notice attached to this agenda. In general, OC San offers several ways in which to interact during
meetings: you may participate in person, join the meeting live via Teams on your computer or similar device or
web browser, join the meeting live via telephone, view the meeting online, and/or submit comments for
consideration before or during the meeting.
NON-CONSENT:
1.2024-4018ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT - STRATEGIC PLAN
PRESENTATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file the Orange County Sanitation District - Strategic Plan Presentation.
Originator:Rob Thompson
Agenda Report
OC San's 2023 Strategic Plan
Presentation - 2025 Strategic Plan Overview
Attachments:
ADJOURNMENT:
Adjourn the meeting until the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors on March 26, 2025 at
6:00 p.m.
Page 1 of 1
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Agenda Report
Headquarters
18480 Bandilier Circle
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2024-4018 Agenda Date:3/19/2025 Agenda Item No:1.
FROM:Robert Thompson, General Manager
SUBJECT:
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT - STRATEGIC PLAN PRESENTATION
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file the Orange County Sanitation District - Strategic Plan Presentation.
BACKGROUND
Every two years,the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San)updates its Strategic Plan.The
Strategic Plan is a policy level roadmap that defines the future desired state of the agency and lays
out initiatives to move toward that desired state.The Strategic Plan is intended to be a living
document that is adjusted to meet new needs or regulations faced by OC San.
STRATEGIC PLANNING:
There are 15 individual policy areas which comprise the overall Strategic Plan.The policy
statements were developed by the Executive Management Team based on input previously provided
by Board Members and staff.The Board’s input and direction is critical in developing and updating
the Strategic Plan.In order to create a common understanding of the existing Strategic Plan and to
receive input for the updated Strategic Plan,each policy area will be presented individually over two
Special Board of Directors meetings-Strategic Plan Workshop #1 and #2- as follows:
March 19, 2025
·Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
·Cybersecurity
·Property Management
·Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
·Resilient Staffing
·Safety and Physical Security
·Asset Management
·Chemical Sustainability
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 3/12/2025Page 1 of 2
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File #:2024-4018 Agenda Date:3/19/2025 Agenda Item No:1.
April 16, 2025
·Water Reuse
·Energy Independence
·Climate and Catastrophic Event Resiliency
·Food Waste Treatment
·Biosolids Management
·Constituents of Emerging Concern
·Environmental Water Quality, and Urban Runoff
Staff intends to finalize the items and compile them into a Draft Strategic Plan for formal adoption in
November of this year.The adopted Strategic Plan will be the basis of Fiscal Year 2026-27 and 2027
-28 budget development.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain and adhere to appropriate internal planning documents: Strategic Plan
·Sustain 1, 5, 20-year planning horizons
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
November 2023 - Adopted the Orange County Sanitation District 2023 Strategic Plan.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OC San website (www.ocsan.gov)with the complete agenda
package:
·OC San’s 2023 Strategic Plan
·Presentation
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 3/12/2025Page 2 of 2
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STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 1
StrategicPlan’23
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
2 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 3
Table of Contents
Board of Directors 4
Message from the General Manager 5
Executive Summary 6
Our Mission and Vision 8
Core Values 9
Levels of Service 10
Risk Register 12
Policy Areas 13
Appendix
Business Principles
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline Policy 23
Asset Management Policy 29
Cybersecurity Policy 32
Property Management Policy 34
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach Policy 35
Environmental Stewardship
Energy Independence Policy 40
Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience Policy 43
Food Waste Treatment Policy 46
Water Reuse Policy 50
Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management, and Urban Runoff Policy 52
Wastewater Management
Chemical Sustainability Policy 56
Biosolids Management Policy 60
Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy 63
Workforce Environment
Resilient Staffing Policy 68
Safety and Physical Security Policy 73
4 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
City Active Director
Anaheim Stephen Faessel
Brea Christine Marick
Buena Park Susan Sonne
Cypress Scott Minikus
Fountain Valley Glenn Grandis
Fullerton Bruce Whitaker
Garden Grove Stephanie Klopfenstein
Huntington Beach Pat Burns
Irvine Farrah N. Khan
La Habra Rose Espinoza
La Palma Marshall Goodman
Los Alamitos Jordan Nefulda
Newport Beach Brad Avery
Orange Jon Dumitru
Placentia Chad Wanke (Chairperson)
Santa Ana Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
Seal Beach Schelly Sustarsic
Stanton David Shawver
Tustin Ryan Gallagher (Vice Chairperson)
Villa Park Robbie Pitts
AGENCIES
Costa Mesa Sanitary District Robert Ooten
Midway City Sanitary District Andrew Nguyen
Irvine Ranch Water District John Withers
Yorba Linda Water District Phil Hawkins
Member of the Board
of Supervisors Doug Chaffee
Board of Directors
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 5
Message from the General Manager
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) serves a critical mission
for 2.6 million residents in North Central Orange County, “To protect public
health and the environment by providing effective wastewater collection,
treatment, and recycling.” To achieve this mission in an ever-changing
world, OC San must adjust the level of service it delivers and the methods
of delivering those services.
The creation of a new Strategic Plan every two years is the first step in a
comprehensive planning process at OC San. By understanding the risks
it is facing, shifts in the regulatory environment, opportunities in the
business climate, and the condition of its assets, OC San is able to balance
its services defined by fifteen policy areas and levels of service provided to our customers. This
adopted Strategic Plan, along with the annual Asset Management Plan, will serve as the basis for
staff to develop a new two-year budget which will be adopted by the Board of Directors in June
2024. The General Manager’s Work Plan is developed annually to deliver tangible progress toward
the goals in the Strategic Plan within the parameters of the budget.
The planning process for OC San is key for creating unity. The Board of Directors experience
significant turnover every two years due to term limits and changing representation as decided by
the twenty-five agencies we serve. This biennial process allows each Board of Directors to make
the plan their own, while at the same time continuing to develop and extend the vision of the prior
Boards. Having a clear, written Strategic Plan allows staff to align itself with this direction and
continue to be high achieving.
I would like to thank our former Board Members for their vision and guidance that sets the
expectations we are delivering today and our current Board Members who have improved the plan
to meet our new and evolving challenges and opportunities. Staff are committed to innovating our
service delivery to meet the expectations of this Strategic Plan.
Sincerely,
Robert Thompson
General Manager
6 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Executive Summary
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is a resource recovery agency focused on providing
reliable and cost-effective public services. OC San uses a two-year, four-step management process
that creates and maintains vision alignment between the Board of Directors, staff, and the public
we serve. It all begins with a Strategic Plan developed by the Board with input from staff that
provides guidance and direction for long-term financial, capital, and operational efforts.
The four steps of the strategic planning process are:
1. Defining OC San’s ability to have people and assets in place to meet its agreed upon mission.
2. Developing the budget which lays out the tactical planning and resource allocation based on
the adopted Strategic Plan.
3. Implementing the budget which is the day in and day out delivery of services to the public we
serve.
4. Reporting on our level of service delivery and goal attainment.
These four steps are repeated every two years to maintain alignment and are adjusted based on the
Board of Directors input, legal and regulatory changes, and the needs of the communities we serve.
This management system is intended to carry on over the course of transitioning Board Members
and staff to deliver resilient daily services and morph our facilities and systems over time to meet
new challenges facing Orange County.
The policy areas from the 2021 Strategic Plan were evaluated and determined to be relevant today,
with modifications made to address new findings or continue to advance the original goal with new
initiatives. We are continuing with four broad categories with 15 policy areas that define our role in
the wastewater environment for Orange County.
The areas are:
Business Principles
• Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
• Asset Management
• Cybersecurity
• Property Management
• Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
Environmental Stewardship
• Energy Independence
• Climate and Catastrophic Event Resiliency
• Food Waste Treatment
• Water Reuse
• Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management and Urban Runoff
Wastewater Management
• Chemical Sustainability
• Biosolids Management
• Constituents of Emerging Concern
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 7
Workplace Environment
• Resilient Staffing
• Safety and Physical Security
Collaboration and engagement with the Board of Directors and our employees took place over the
course of the year to update the Board of Directors on the elements that make up the Strategic
Plan. The updates began with a review of the policy areas and the specific policy topics and
initiatives.
Feedback and recommendations were made by the Board leading to revisions of some of the
proposed initiatives for each area. The 15 policy topics include a policy statement, background, the
current situation, and updated initiatives to meet the policy goal.
The policy topics and initiatives will be incorporated into supporting documents such as the Budget
and General Manager’s Work Plan. The work plan is where we will note measurable results of each
goal and the supporting initiatives.
Subsequent updates to the Board of Directors consisted of a presentation on the Levels of Service
(LOS), the Core Values, and the Risk Register.
Our Levels of Service are our commitment to our various stakeholders, that includes the public,
regulators, our Board, and our employees. As regulations change, technology advances, and
expectations change, so must our service to the public. Our LOS remain unchanged from the
previous plan as they align with the current Strategic Plan. The Core Values are intended to reflect
and guide the culture practiced at OC San and how we are able to achieve the LOS. OC San’s
Risk Register captures the appropriate areas of concern as well as our action plan to mitigate
those risks.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development General Manager Work Plan
General Manager Work PlanBudget Update
General Manager Work Plan
General Manager Work PlanBudget UpdateFive Year Rate Study Prop218
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development
8 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Our Mission
“To protect public health and the environment by providing
effective wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling.”
Our Vision
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT WILL BE A LEADER IN:
• Providing reliable, responsive, and affordable services in line with customer needs
and expectations.
• Protecting public health and the environment utilizing all practical and effective
means for wastewater, energy, and solids resource recovery.
• Continually seeking efficiencies to ensure that the public’s money is wisely spent.
• Communicating our mission and strategies with those we serve and all
other stakeholders.
• Partnering with others to benefit our customers, this region, and our industry.
• Creating the best possible workforce in terms of safety, productivity, customer
service, and training.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 9
Core Values
OC San’s Core Values support the Mission and Vision Statements by expressing the values,
beliefs, and philosophy that guides the agency’s daily actions. They help form the framework of
the organization and reinforce a professional work ethic. These Core Values accurately express the
philosophy and practice of OC San’s workforce.
Integrity, Inclusion, Honesty, and Respect
We aspire to the highest degree of integrity, inclusion, honesty, and respect in our interaction with
each other, our suppliers, our customers, and our community. We strive to demonstrate these
values in our actions, commitments, and service.
Leadership, Teamwork, and Problem Solving
We lead by example, acknowledging the value of our resources and using them wisely to achieve
our mission. We strive to reach OC San goals through cooperative efforts and collaboration with
each other and our constituencies. We work to solve problems in a creative, cost-effective, and safe
manner, and we acknowledge team and individual efforts.
Customer Service, Transparency, and Accountability
We are committed to acting in a timely, accurate, accessible, and transparent manner through
excellent customer service. We are committed to act in the best interest of our internal and external
stakeholders.
Resiliency, Innovation, and Learning
We continuously develop ourselves, enhancing our talents, skills, and abilities. We recognize that
only through personal growth and development will we progress as an agency and as individuals.
Safety
We are committed to providing a safe work environment. We will demonstrate leadership, promote
individual accountability, and participate actively in the advancement of our health and safety
practices.
10 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Levels of Service
OC San’s Levels of Service (LOS) are the commitment made to our rate payers, regulators,
employees, and the Board of Directors on our operational efforts. The LOS align with the Strategic
Plan and showcase how the initiatives are being implemented and monitored.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP LEVELS OF SERVICE
OC San will protect public health and the environment.
• Compliance with Ocean Discharge Permit 100%
• Dry weather urban runoff collected and treated Up to 10 MGD
• Major non-conformance audit findings <5 per permit per audit
• Respond to corrective actions within regulatory timeline
for air, solids, and water compliance audits
100%
• Comply with Fleet Air Emission Regulations 100%
• Number of odor complaints under normal operations < 5 per events per treatment plant
< 12 per events for collection system
• Sanitary Sewer Spills per 100 miles <2.1
• Compliance with core industrial pretreatment
requirements
100%
OC San’s effluent, solids and biogas will be recycled.
• Provide specification effluent to Groundwater
Replenishment System
100%
• Beneficially reuse biosolids during normal operations 100%
WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
OC San will be a good neighbor and will be responsive to
its customers.
• Respond to collection system spills within 1 hour of
notification
100%
• Respond to odor complaints Within 1 hour in plants
Within 24-hours in collection system
• Respond to public complaints or inquiries regarding
construction within 24 hours
100%
• Respond to biosolids contractor violations within one
week of violation notice
100%
• Respond to Public Records Act requests within the
statutory requirements
<=10 days
• Dig alert response within 48 hours 100%
OC San will manage its assets to ensure reliability and
security.
• Cybersecurity event monitoring and incident handling,
percent successful
>87%
• Annual real property assessments/inspections 25% of the properties
• Annual Inspection, documentation, and evaluation of
collection system
70 miles of sewers
880 manholes
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 11
BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
OC San will exercise sound financial management.
• Annual user fees sufficient to cover 100% of O&M
Budget
100%
• Collection, treatment, and disposal costs per million
gallons
Within 10% of budget
• Maintain Credit Rating (Moody’s, Fitch, S&P)AAA
WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT
OC San will provide a safe, productive workplace.
• Employee injury incident rate per 100 employees <4.4
• Annual days away from work, restricted activity, or job
transfer resulting from a work-related injury
<2.5
• Annual training hours per employee 45 hours
12 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Risk Register
The Risk Register is a collection of the various risks facing OC San for the annual review
by management. The findings from this assessment are utilized in the development of the
Strategic Plan and the General Manager’s Work Plan to ensure OC San’s operations are not
affected.
The analysis allows management to identify solutions and prioritize the concerns in a manner
that is efficient and effective.
The risks analyzed range from staffing, to cybersecurity, to operational concerns.
The 2023 Risk Register is a tool used by management to keep OC San in a forward moving
position while considering the risks identified.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 13
Policy Areas
The Strategic Plan is divided into four categories with 15 topic areas. Below are the policy
statements and corresponding initiatives to achieve the goals of the plan. The complete policy
papers can be found in the appendix.
BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
Policy Statement
OC San has practices and safeguards in place to ensure its long-term fiscal stability. These provide
direction so that OC San’s finances are managed in a manner that will continue to support the daily
collection and treatment of wastewater; meet the mission of the organization; maintain our AAA
Bond Rating; ensure a responsible budget, consisting of Revenues, Operating Expenditures, Capital
Improvement Program (CIP), Debt Service; and establish reserves necessary to meet known and
unknown future obligations. OC San has established Fiscal Policies and Reserve Criteria, which are
included in the budget, and separately adopted Investment and Debt Policies.
Initiatives
• Use established resources, along with developing and implementing additional resources to assist
OC San staff in tracking and monitoring expenditures to ensure smooth business operations while
maintaining budgetary control.
• Maintain a fiscally responsible financial plan that is based on long-term planning which supports
stable rate setting and a pay-as-you-go philosophy for operating and capital expenditures.
• Leverage the centralized training program to provide targeted training opportunities for employees
to remain current with financial best practices and OC San fiscal policies and procedures.
• Monitor the long-term debt program and continually assess market conditions to identify possible
opportunities to reduce outstanding debt balance and term, while maintaining a AAA rating.
Maintain reserve levels within policy guidelines, while optimizing the use of available funds to
finance capital programs and ensure a balanced budget.
Asset Management
Policy Statement
OC San will assess and manage the collection and treatment plant systems and assets to improve
resilience and reliability while lowering lifecycle costs. This will be accomplished through adaptive
operation, coordinated maintenance and condition assessment, and planned capital investment.
Staff will balance maintenance, refurbishment, and replacement strategies to maximize useful life,
system availability and efficiency.
Initiatives
• Continue developing an annual Asset Management Plan documenting the condition of the
collection system and treatment plants, and upcoming maintenance or capital projects.
• Coordinate the efforts of operations, collections, mechanical maintenance, electrical
maintenance, instrument maintenance and engineering through process teams to assure
OC San’s resources are focused on the high priority work functions.
• Identify critical collections and plant assets that have long lead times for parts and replacement
and mitigate procurement risks and impacts to collections and plant resiliency based on market
conditions.
14 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
• Maintain a 20-year forecast of all CIP projects needed to maintain or upgrade OC San’s
$12.6 billion in assets on a prioritized risk basis to establish rate structures.
Cybersecurity
Policy Statement
OC San must maintain adequate cybersecurity (information technology security) techniques
that protect computer assets, networks, programs, data, and industrial control equipment from
unauthorized access, denial of service, or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.
Initiatives
• Conduct various tabletop exercises to determine the organization’s ability to respond to a
targeted cyberattack and to improve the quality of the response, should an attack occur.
• Evaluate, enhance, and monitor network security including activities to protect the usability,
reliability, integrity, and safety of the network by developing Security Operations Center
capabilities that support continuous monitoring and is responsible for the continuous threat
protection process.
• Conduct a comprehensive third-party cybersecurity operations assessment (Red Team). A
thorough Red Team engagement will expose vulnerabilities and risks regarding:
o Technology — Networks, applications, routers, switches, appliances, etc.
o People — Staff, independent contractors, departments, business partners, etc.
o Physical — Offices, warehouses, substations, data centers, buildings, etc.
Property Management
Policy Statement
OC San owns and operates assets throughout its service area located in property owned in fee,
through easements, and in the public right-of-way. OC San will identify and protect all of its property
rights to assure that its assets are not encumbered or encroached upon so that the facilities may
be properly operated, maintained, upgraded, and replaced.
Initiatives
• Leverage technology to review property rights and identify encroachments or encumbrances
that restrict operation, maintenance, inspection, or emergency repair access to remove
encroachments or encumbrances.
• Collaborate with Engineering to obtain property, easements, and right-of-way in a timely manner
for capital projects.
• Augment OC San resources with contracted specialized real estate services to limit the need for
additional staffing.
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
Policy Statement
OC San will create and disseminate information to our stakeholders with an end goal to educate,
inform, and garner support for the services provided thus allowing us to operate in a more efficient
and effective manner. OC San will deliver messages that are accurate, transparent, and designed to
foster public trust and confidence. Additionally, legislative activity will ensure OC San’s interests are
explained and considered.
Initiatives
• Develop an educational display in the Headquarters building to illustrate OC San’s reuse and
recycling efforts in support of the environment and public health. Display to be revealed when
new building is unveiled. Phase 2 of the hands-on educational display will consist of content on
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 15
the exterior of the building to create a complete experience from walking up to OC San to entering
the building.
• Implement a multipronged outreach strategy that will include industry and media coverage for the
Supercritical Water Oxidation project.
• Develop and implement a Local Government Affairs Outreach Program to enhance OC San
business goals and build local relationships that benefit OC San, cities we serve, member
agencies and officials.
• Engage a local lobbyist to assist in advancing strategic initiatives as identified with the Strategic
Plan.
• Actively monitor and engage in regulatory and legislative activity across California and
Washington, D.C., and take appropriate action in support of, or opposition to, legislative and
regulatory initiatives affecting OC San and the wastewater industry. This includes using Monitoring
and Analysis, Advocacy Days, Position letters and Funding Requests (as deemed suitable).
16 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Energy Independence
Policy Statement
OC San will strive to be energy neutral. Electrical, thermal, and methane gas generation will be
maximized. Energy utilization will be minimized using sound engineering and financial principles.
Initiatives
• Maximize the anaerobic digestion conversion of organics to methane through receipt of food
waste and operational techniques.
• Investigate and install energy storage and photovoltaic systems where practical to achieve energy
independence/resilience.
• Investigate the treatment and sale of biogas to external users.
• Continue to support the conversion of biomethane into electricity and heat for process use.
Improve systems as necessary to comply with air regulations.
• Pursue technology innovation to reduce energy use, reduce transportation energy impacts, and
reduce greenhouse gas impacts.
• Investigate the optimum wastewater influent flow split between Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2 that
satisfies OCWD specification water requirements and energy efficiency.
Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience Policy
Policy Statement
OC San aims to design, maintain, and operate valuable wastewater assets that withstand or
adapt to adverse conditions in a reasonable manner that is both cost-effective and sustainable for
present and future generations. These adverse conditions include drought, heavy rains, flooding,
sea level rise, earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme heat, wildfires, pandemic, and electrical grid
interruptions.
Initiatives
• Evaluate the seismic vulnerabilities of Plant No. 2 flow processes (primary clarifiers, activated
sludge facility, and ocean outfall piping) within the plant. Determine the required improvements
to maintain dry weather flow capacity after a seismic event. Incorporate necessary upgrades into
future capital improvement projects.
• Complete the biannual high flow exercise to assure readiness for a high flow event. Maintain a
higher level of readiness October 15 through March 15 and in advance of predicted significant
rain events.
Food Waste Treatment
Policy Statement
The State of California limits the volume of organic waste that is diverted to landfills. OC San will
collaborate with the County of Orange, other local agencies, and waste haulers to find ways to
beneficially reuse food waste, a type of organic waste to assist cities in our service area in meeting
their diversion requirements while increasing OC San’s energy production.
Initiatives
• OC San will accept a preprocessed food waste slurry from an in-county partner that is compatible
with its existing anaerobic digesters. OC San will charge a tipping fee to offset its costs for capital
construction, operations, handling, maintenance, and biosolids disposal.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 17
• Design, build, and operate a food waste receiving station. Utilize a county-wide specification for
food waste slurry and contract with OCWR to receive and co-digest food waste slurry.
Water Reuse
Policy Statement
OC San will seek to beneficially reuse all reclaimable water for potable, industrial, irrigation and
environmental uses.
Initiatives
• Support Groundwater Replenishment System and maximize reclaimable wastewater availability to
OCWD.
• Support Green Acres project water production to provide reclaimed water for industrial and
irrigation uses.
• Conduct a Dry Weather Urban Runoff Optimization Study in collaboration with OCWD and OCPW to
identify additional opportunity to accept up to 10 MGD of dry weather urban runoff.
Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management and Urban Runoff
Policy Statement
OC San will collaborate with regional stakeholders to accept up to ten (10) million gallons per day
of dry weather urban runoff at no cost to the dischargers through its permit-based Dry Weather
Urban Runoff Diversion Program. The primary objective of this program is to improve water quality
in streams, rivers, and beaches in OC San’s service area without adversely impacting the OC San
occupational safety, collection and treatment systems, reuse initiatives, or permit compliance.
Unauthorized discharge of urban runoff to OC San is strictly prohibited.
Initiatives
• Issue dry weather urban runoff connection permits to accept up to a total of ten million gallons
per day of controlled discharge of dry weather urban runoff where existing conveyance capacity
exists, and the constituents within the flow will not adversely impact OC San.
• Safeguard OC San’s sanitary sewer system against uncontrolled and unregulated discharge
by supporting responsible industry practices for flow management and urban runoff pollutant
reduction at the source. Utilize OC San’s pretreatment expertise to support effective urban runoff
best management practices and special purpose discharge requests among OC San’s regional
stakeholders.
• Support responsible and practicable urban runoff management and reuse legislations and
regulations.
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WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
Chemical Sustainability
Policy Statement
OC San has a need to use chemicals in its treatment process to improve plant performance, reduce
odor and corrosion potential, and meet its regulatory requirements. These commodity chemicals
are provided by outside vendors through the purchasing process. Some of these chemicals are
subject to price swings due to market condition changes such as energy cost impacts, raw material
cost changes, commercial competition changes, and transportation cost volatility. OC San will
identify chemicals key to its operation, investigate the market risks for those chemicals and devise
strategies to mitigate identified risks to availability and pricing.
Initiative
• Reduce the exclusive reliance on particular chemicals and individual vendors to establish
flexibility to utilize other chemicals/processes to accomplish operational objectives.
Biosolids Management
Policy Statement
OC San will remain committed to a sustainable biosolids program and will continue the beneficial
reuse of biosolids in accordance with Resolution No. OC San 13-03 and the 2017 Biosolids Master
Plan.
Initiatives
• Proceed with implementation of new thermophilic biosolids facilities at Plant No. 2 to improve
OC San’s operational resiliency against seismic events while enhancing biosolids quality and
marketability.
• Engage with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that biosolids will continue to be safely
and legally used as a soil amendment.
• Refresh both short- and long-term hauling and management options to ensure reliability and
availability of failsafe options, promote local biosolids management options, and enable
compliance with Advance Clean Fleet and Greenhouse Gas reduction regulations.
• Stay abreast of new biosolids management options, technologies, and biosolids recycling and
renewable energy partnerships in Southern California, with special emphasis on technologies that
address the removal, sequestration, and destruction of contaminants of emerging concern, such
as Supercritical Water Oxidation.
Constituents of Emerging Concern
Policy Statement
OC San will partner with other agencies, associations, and institutions to support the use of sound
science to inform policy and regulatory decisions on constituents or contaminants of emerging
concern (CECs) at the federal, state, and regional levels. Staff will obtain and maintain current
knowledge on CECs under regulatory consideration, including occurrence, analytical methods,
regulations, and treatment to support OC San’s mission and regulatory compliance.
Initiatives
• OC San will continue to actively engage water and wastewater stakeholders to stay abreast of the
scientific progress and any potential operational and financial impacts of CECs and provide timely
briefings to OC San’s Executive Management Team and Board of Directors to facilitate informed
decision making.
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• OC San will continue to develop capacity to identify, detect, quantify, and characterize CEC
sources throughout the service area and treatment process to promote source reduction,
treatment effectiveness, communication of credible risks, and responsible reuse and disposal.
• OC San will proactively establish internal expertise and develop laboratory capability to research
the potential impact of CECs on beneficial reuse of water and biosolids. OC San will use science-
based knowledge to help shape CEC legislation and regulations to protect the public health and
environment.
• In the absence of promulgated regulatory limits for specific CECs, OC San will work with regulatory
agencies to establish interim source control measures to safeguard its water and biosolids reuse
initiatives and ocean discharge against potential adverse impacts.
20 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT
Resilient Staffing
Policy Statement
OC San has comprehensive programs in place to attract, develop and retain high-quality talent
to support its mission of protecting public health and the environment. Some of these programs
include training and development, employee recognition, diversity and inclusion, recruitment and
selection, and competitive benefits and compensation, which help promote employee engagement
and productivity and make OC San an employer of choice.
Initiatives
• OC San’s employee training programs and activities will be transitioned from individual
departments and centralized in the Human Resources department over a two-year period. The
centralized approach will streamline processes, ensure legal compliance, and provide greater
consistency, transparency, and access for all employees, while also being responsive to the needs
of the organization.
• Maintain and enhance workforce planning initiatives to efficiently and effectively identify, develop
and select the next generation of prepared, capable, and engaged employees through:
o Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
o Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
o Talent Readiness Assessments
o Orange County Sanitation District University (OC San “U”)
• Continue to build the OC San “U” program and evaluate various options to partner with member
agencies to share content and interactive development opportunities.
Safety and Physical Security
Policy Statement
OC San will ensure the safety, health, and security of employees, contractors and the public through
industry best practices, policies, and procedures that support a safe and secure environment,
provide an appropriate level of security and safeguard OC San’s property and physical assets.
Initiatives
Safety
• Identify regulatory gaps and opportunities to continually improve OC San’s safety and health
management system to participate in the Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
• Continue to foster a culture where employees are accountable for their safety, as well as the
safety of others.
Emergency Management
• Support facility and countywide emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by
partnering with entities such as, the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County
(WEROC), Orange County Sherriff Department, and local fire departments to plan and conduct
disaster preparedness exercises and drills.
• Train new employees or retrain existing employees who staff OC San’s Emergency Operation
Center (EOC) on the Incident Command System (ICS) and emergency disaster forms.
Security
• Identify and assess security vulnerabilities and improve physical security systems such as CCTV
monitoring, access control systems, physical key management systems, and physical patrols of
occupied buildings and plant facilities.
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STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 23
Appendix
BusinessPrinciples
24 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) has practices and safeguards in place to ensure
its long-term fiscal stability. These provide direction so that OC San’s finances are managed in a
manner that will continue to support the daily collection and treatment of wastewater; meet the
mission of the organization; maintain our AAA Bond Rating; ensure a responsible budget consisting
of Revenues, Operating Expenditures, Capital Improvement Program (CIP), and Debt Service;
and establish reserves necessary to meet known and unknown future obligations. OC San has
established Fiscal Policies and Reserve Criteria, which are included in the budget, and separately
adopted Investment and Debt Policies. These policies set the guidelines for planning the cashflow of
OC San and have helped to stabilize the rates that our residents pay.
Background
OC San’s annual budget for Operating, Capital, and Debt Service expenses is approximately
$600 million. OC San maintains all physical assets at a level adequate to meet its mission, protect
OC San’s capital investment and to minimize future maintenance and replacement costs. OC San
strives to maintain budgetary and accounting procedures that balance the budget in the current
cycle, rather than through future budgets. These efforts are supported by OC San’s pay-as-you-go
policy for its capital projects and expenditures.
OC San focuses its fiscal policy around seven distinct areas, (1) Revenues, (2) Operating Budget, (3)
CIP, (4) Long-Term Debt, (5) Reserves, (6) Investments, and (7) Accounting, Auditing, and Financial
Reporting. These areas are reviewed, updated annually, and described as follows:
1) Revenues
OC San’s revenues come from three general areas: Fees and Charges, Property Taxes, and other
smaller revenue sources. Because revenues are sensitive to both local and regional economic
conditions, revenue estimates are conservative. Staff estimates annual revenues by an objective,
analytical process that utilizes trend, judgment, and statistical analysis as appropriate. Property
tax revenues of OC San are first dedicated to debt service. OC San sets fees and user charges at
a level that fully supports the total direct and indirect costs of operations, capital improvements,
and debt service requirements not covered by property taxes and reserves.
2) Operating Budget
The budget is used as a fiscal control device as well as a financial plan. Budget preparation
and monitoring are performed by each division within OC San at the organizational level to
ensure accountability and control. An annual operating budget is developed by Financial
Management and the respective divisions, conservatively projecting expenditures for the current
and forthcoming fiscal years. During the annual budget development process, the existing
programs are examined to assure removal or reduction of any services or programs that could be
eliminated or reduced in cost. Annual budgets provide for adequate repair and maintenance of
facilities and equipment. Current operating expenditures are supported by current revenues.
3) Capital Improvement Program
OC San makes all capital improvements in accordance with an adopted and funded CIP. OC San
maintains a current Asset Management Plan and a twenty-year plan for capital improvements,
including design, construction, and OC San staff costs. All capital projects approved in the annual
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 25
budget are approved for the budgeted amounts through the completion of the project. The
Board of Directors approves both the individual project total budget and the projected cash
outlays for all capital projects. Staff identifies which capital projects may have a significant
impact to on-going operating and maintenance costs, staffing impacts and estimates the
impact as the project is developed. Staff coordinates development of the CIP budget with the
development of the operating budget. All operations and maintenance resources required to
implement the CIP have been considered and appropriately reflected in the operating budget
for the year the project is to be implemented. Cost tracking for components of the project is
updated quarterly to ensure project completion against budget and established timelines.
4) Long-Term Debt
OC San maintains a Board of Directors adopted Debt Policy. Before any new debt is issued, the
impact of debt service payments on total annual fixed costs is analyzed. Proceeds from long-
term debt cannot be used for current on-going operations. OC San maintains a AAA credit rating
from Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch.
5) Reserves
OC San has a Board of Directors Reserve Policy which governs the establishment of our reserve
level and the use of those funds. To ensure an adequate and diverse reserve policy, we have
established seven different criteria. These criteria ensure that OC San will have sufficient
funds for debt covenants, operating expenditures, and debt service payments prior to receiving
our revenue from the county, operating contingency, rehabilitations and refurbishment, CIP
contingency, and self-insurance for catastrophic loss. Any amounts in excess of these criteria
are used to fund capital projects on a pay-as-you-go basis.
6) Investments
OC San annually submits an investment policy to the Board of Directors for review and adoption.
The investment policy emphasizes safety and liquidity before yield. OC San contracts with an
Investment Manager to manage its portfolio in accordance with State Code and the investment
policy.
7) Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting
OC San’s accounting and financial reporting systems are maintained in conformance with
accepted accounting principles. Quarterly financial reports are submitted to the Board of
Directors and made available to the public. Monthly Operating Budget Reports are compiled,
analyzed, and distributed to each division. An annual audit is performed by an independent
public accounting firm with the subsequent issue of an official Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report, including an audit opinion and a management letter. Various internal audits are
undertaken each year under the direction of the Audit Ad Hoc Committee to ensure adherence
to policies, processes, and procedures.
Current Situation
1) Revenues
Most of OC San’s revenue is generated by user fees and charges. This category accounts for
approximately 70 percent of OC San revenue in a year. Currently, OC San fees are in the lower
third of its comparison agencies. After completing a rate study, a new five-year rate schedule was
adopted by the Board of Directors in March 2023.
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OC San receives a share of the basic property tax levy proportionate to what was received in
the 1976 to 1978 period, less $3.5 million allocated to school districts. These funds make up
approximately 22 percent of the total revenue for the year. Other Revenue includes Interest
Earnings, Intra-District Transfers, and small revenue sources that make up the remaining eight
percent of the annual revenue.
Budget Expenditures
OC San adopts a biennial budget with an update in the second year of the adopted budget.
The annual budgeted expenditures are approximately $600 million. This document lays out
the framework of OC San’s activities during the upcoming fiscal year and serves as a source of
information for the Board of Directors, our ratepayers, investors, and our employees. This budget
includes the operational, capital and debt service expenditures necessary to cost-effectively
support our mission and execute the Strategic Plan adopted by our Board of Directors. OC San has
received the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for
the last 27 years.
2) Operating Budget
OC San’s Operating Budget is the financial plan and fiscal control mechanism for the 25
divisions that comprise the six departments. The Operating Budget accounts for the costs
to operate, maintain, and manage OC San’s two treatment plants, 15 pump stations, and
388 miles of collection systems. Outside of salaries and benefits, the largest expenditure
categories are repairs and maintenance and operating supplies. The budget preparation
process is collaborative among the divisions, departments, Finance, and upper management.
The General Manager and Assistant General Manager met with each of the departments to
ensure their budget proposals were prudent and cost-effective. This process assists to develop
a comprehensive budget for OC San that meets the needs of the organization and is fiscally
responsible.
3) CIP
OC San’s CIP has evolved over time. It began by focusing on creating the initial infrastructure
of the collections and treatment system, shifted to expanding capacity, and now our focus is
on aging infrastructure, incorporating climate resiliency, seismic risk, and maximizing resource
recovery in every project we execute. There are $3.1 billion in planned capital projects over the
next ten years. The CIP is supported by the Asset Management Plan, which is updated annually
and provides a comprehensive analysis of the condition and capacity of OC San’s wastewater
infrastructure. The Asset Management Program continuously validates and updates the projects
that are within the CIP. Current and near-term future projects are validated annually to ensure
accurate schedule, scope, and budget.
4) Long-Term Debt
OC San’s long-term debt fiscal policy restricts long-term borrowing to capital improvements
that cannot be financed from current revenue. Before any new debt is issued, the impact of
debt service payments on total annual fixed costs will be analyzed. OC San has $790 million in
outstanding debt. No new money debt issuances are planned. The debt issuances are regularly
reviewed and evaluated for potential savings through refinancing. All existing debt is scheduled
to be paid off by 2044.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 27
5) Reserves
OC San conducted an in-depth review of the agency’s reserve policies. This review included a
survey of the reserve policies of 23 other public agencies and is periodically updated. It serves
as a tool to assist in the evaluation of the underlying economic reasons supporting OC San’s
reserve policies. There are seven distinct reserve criterion which together comprise OC San’s
reserve fund target. These criteria are cash flow, operating contingency, capital improvement,
catastrophic loss/self-insurance, replacement and refurbishment, debt service, and
accumulated funds. Collectively, these individual criteria require a minimum average reserve
amount of approximately $580 million a year over the current ten-year cash flow forecast. This
reserve amount, while significant, totals less than five percent of the replacement value of our
$12.6 billion in assets.
6) Investments
OC San invests public funds in a manner which ensures the safety and preservation of capital
while meeting reasonably anticipated operating expenditure needs, achieving a reasonable
rate of return, and conforming to all state and local statutes governing the investment of public
funds. OC San uses a bank checking account and sweep account for its daily transactions.
Liquidity needs are met through funds invested with the Local Agency Investment Fund
managed by the State Treasurer’s Office. Most of OC San’s investments are separated into two
distinct portfolios, Long-term and Short-term, with a primary focus on the Long-term portfolio,
which are managed by an outside investment manager. Monthly, quarterly, and annual
reporting and review mechanisms are in place.
7) Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting
An audit of the books, financial records, and transactions of OC San is conducted annually
by independent certified public accountants. The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
includes the financial position and activity of the organization and is prepared by the Financial
Management Division. Responsibility for both the accuracy of the data, and the completeness
and fairness of the presentation, including all disclosures, rests with OC San. The auditor’s
report on OC San’s basic financial statements and supplementary information renders an
unmodified opinion on OC San’s basic financial statements for the year ended June 30,
2022. OC San has been awarded the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate
of Achievement in Financial Reporting for 28 consecutive years. Along with monthly budget
reviews and quarterly reporting to the Board, OC San’s internal accounting controls adequately
safeguard assets and provide for proper recording of financial transactions.
Budget Control Resources
OC San has various structures, procedures, and resources in place to help assist with project and
operating budget controls. Several software systems such as PM Web, Request to Purchase, JDE
reports, and monthly operating budget reports provide information and have controls in place to be
able to restrict purchases to budgeted amounts and monitor overall spending per division. Contract
structures have also been optimized to fix costs over longer periods to ensure controlled and
predictable expenditures for goods, services, and labor.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will maintain and enhance the sound fiscal condition of the organization by regularly
updating and following the individual policies that provide guidelines for OC San’s day-to-day
financial affairs. The scope of these policies includes, accounting, purchasing, auditing, financial
28 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
reporting, internal controls, operating and capital budgeting, pay-as-you-go for capital expenditures,
revenue management, cash and investment management, expenditure control, debt management,
and planning concepts. OC San will actively monitor budget expenditures, be transparent, submit
quarterly financial reports to the Board, have financial information available to the public, and follow
industry best practices. OC San’s accounting and financial reporting systems will be maintained
in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles and standards promulgated by the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Use established resources, along with developing and implementing additional resources to assist
OC San staff in tracking and monitoring expenditures to ensure smooth business operations while
maintaining budgetary control.
• Maintain a fiscally responsible financial plan that is based on long-term planning which supports
stable rate setting and a pay-as-you-go philosophy for operating and capital expenditures.
• Leverage the centralized training program to provide targeted training opportunities for employees
to remain current with financial best practices and OC San fiscal policies and procedures.
• Monitor the long-term debt program and continually assess market conditions to identify possible
opportunities to reduce outstanding debt balance and term, while maintaining a AAA rating.
Maintain reserve levels within policy guidelines, while optimizing the use of available funds to
finance capital programs and ensure a balanced budget.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 29
Asset Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will assess and manage the collection and
treatment plant systems and assets to improve resilience and reliability while lowering lifecycle
costs. This will be accomplished through adaptive operation, coordinated maintenance and
condition assessment, and planned capital investment. Staff will balance maintenance,
refurbishment, and replacement strategies to maximize useful life, system availability, and
efficiency.
Background
OC San is a regional governmental agency principally chartered to protect the public health through
collection and treatment of wastewater. The governing Board of Directors has defined this role to
include the recovery and utilization of resources from wastewater for the public good as a part of
that mission. The environmental impact mitigation of the human activity of 2.6 million people and
the natural drainage of the 479 square miles OC San serves is our principal concern.
OC San owns and operates extensive facilities to achieve its mission. OC San estimates the
replacement value of the civil, mechanical, and electrical assets in its collection system, Plant
No. 1 in Fountain Valley, and Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach to be $12.6 billion. OC San has
been building the piping, pumping, and treatment infrastructure it utilizes for nearly 70 years. It is
necessary to expand, renew, replace, demolish, and rebuild components of the system to deal with
wear and tear and meet new challenges.
The early years for OC San were characterized mostly by capacity expansion to meet the challenges
of increased flows as the county grew. The late 1970s to the 2000s were more defined by improved
levels of treatment. The last ten years have been focused on increasing the level of recycling
while rehabilitating and replacing facilities to maintain reliable operations. One of the key success
factors for OC San has been the ability to maximize the life of our facilities, through cost-effective
maintenance and long-range planning to ensure reliable systems.
Current Situation
OC San is a highly planned, forward-looking organization. The collection system and each of the
treatment plants are broken down into granular functional parts. Each part is well defined and
future requirements are routinely updated within the annual asset management plan. This plan
may also be supplemented with detailed planning studies to optimize the timing and extent of
upcoming projects. OC San has a detailed understanding of what is owned, what condition it is in,
and how it is capable of performing.
The collection system is made up of independent pipe networks that were installed by the former
independent sanitation districts to deliver flow to the joint treatment works. The natural watershed
drainages in the service area are served by major trunk sewer systems. OC San has worked with
member agency staff to understand future development plans, flow estimates, and has collected
historical inflow and infiltration rates during wet weather events to assure adequate flow carrying
capability exists in each trunk sewer system. OC San also factors in the effects of drought and lower
domestic water usage rates to make sure the sewers operate properly at low-flow rates. Detailed
modeling efforts are used to determine when upgrades are required.
The treatment plants are broken down into the discrete process units. Each plant has preliminary
treatment to remove debris and grit, primary treatment for gravity settling solids, multiple biological
30 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
secondary treatment systems, solids handling and dewatering, power generation and distribution
utilities, water and air system utilities, and an outfall system to release treated water to the ocean.
Each plant can treat 320 million gallons per day of wet weather flow, but only 185 million gallons
total on average is treated by both plants. OC San must always maintain the ability to treat both the
average flow and peak wet weather flow.
OC San understands that every asset has an expected life. Electrical systems with electronics
are generally limited by component obsolescence to 20 years of life and electrical distribution
equipment is limited to 30 to 40 years of life. Mechanical and coating systems are also generally
limited by erosion, corrosion, and wear to 20 years of life. Civil structures and pipes are generally
limited to 60 to 80 years of life if maintained on a regular basis. Generally, process facilities are
renewed about every 25 years.
OC San has created a Facilities Master Plan that plans to renew or replace facilities on this regular
basis. Collection system projects are driven by growth projections or condition findings. Pipes are
upsized or renewed based on flow projections, corrosion observation, or coating system failure. The
15 regional pump stations are renewed about every 25 years due to the mechanical wear and tear,
and electrical component obsolescence needs.
The master plan for the treatment plants is much more dynamic. In addition to the electrical,
mechanical, and civil asset considerations, there is also the need to meet new requirements. The
new requirements are driven by regulatory requirements or by the Board of Directors to change a
discretionary level of service. Examples include capacity demands (more water, more solids), lower
discharge requirements (lower BOD/TSS to the outfall, lower nutrients to the ocean), more water for
reclamation, better energy conversion of solids. The 2017 Facilities Master Plan took a snapshot
in time looking at the anticipated needs and levels of service to lay out a detailed project plan to
morph OC San infrastructure over time to meet the expectation. Renewal or replacement projects
with costs and schedules were laid out for each individual unit of the treatment plants to address
capacity, condition, level of service, and anticipated new regulatory drivers.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will continue to invest in the infrastructure necessary to meet its mission. OC San will seek
to provide its required level of service at the minimum lifecycle cost for its collection and treatment
systems. The 2017 Facilities Master Plan was the snapshot basis of the Capital Improvement
Program (CIP), but the annual Asset Management Plan is the means to update and modify the CIP
to meet new requirements and conditions as time goes by.
OC San will understand in a transparent way: what it owns, the condition of those assets, the
capacity of collections and treatment required, the level of service required by its regulators and
Board of Directors and will anticipate new regulations that may require system improvement.
This understanding will drive coherent operations, targeted maintenance, and capital investment
strategies to assure resilient, lowest lifecycle cost compliance with the requirements.
Operations is committed to optimizing the operation of the systems to extend equipment life
and minimize energy and chemical utilization, while meeting all regulatory and level-of-service
requirements. Staff is committed to maintain the installed assets in a ready state for operations.
Maintenance will seek to balance individual component preventive maintenance, repair, and
renewal in harmony with the CIP. The CIP is based on the annual Asset Management Plan, and
will execute the projects to install, renew, or replace trunk sewers and treatment plant units on a
scheduled basis.
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Asset Management at OC San is the living management of the operation strategies, maintenance
plans, and implementation of the CIP. OC San will find creative ways to maximize asset life and
meet capacity or level of service goals through operations and maintenance. OC San will annually
reassess its condition, capacity, level of service, and regulatory conditions to drive operations and
maintenance practices and modify the CIP.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Continue developing an annual Asset Management Plan documenting the condition of the
collection system and treatment plants, and upcoming maintenance or capital projects.
• Coordinate the efforts of operations, collections, mechanical maintenance, electrical
maintenance, instrument maintenance and engineering through process teams to assure OC
San’s resources are focused on the high priority work functions.
• Identify critical collections and plant assets that have long lead times for parts and replacement
and mitigate procurement risks and impacts to collections and plant resiliency based on market
conditions.
• Maintain a 20-year forecast of all CIP projects needed to maintain or upgrade OC San’s
$12.6 billion in assets on a prioritized risk basis to establish rate structures.
32 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Cybersecurity Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) must maintain adequate cybersecurity (information
technology security) techniques that protect computer assets, networks, programs, data, and
industrial control equipment from unauthorized access, denial of service, or attacks that are aimed
for exploitation.
Background
Developing an effective, sustainable cybersecurity program is a pressing challenge for
organizations of all sizes. The reasons behind the scope of the challenge are many. Cyber risk
continues to grow at an exponential rate with routine attacks from nation states, criminal elements,
hacktivists, and insider threats. The bottom line is cybercrime pays. The booming cybercrime
economy is productizing malware and making cybercrime as easy as shopping at Amazon. With
this easy access to cybercriminal tools and services, enterprises are experiencing rapid increases
in the volume, scale, and sophistication of cyberattacks. Complex and dynamic information
security disciplines are subject to continuous changes in the business, technology, and threat
environments. Many organizations will struggle to implement security programs that support
continuous improvements in this challenging environment.
Current Situation
OC San has evolved over recent years from dedicating less than half of a position towards
cybersecurity, to one position, to currently two full-time positions. OC San’s cybersecurity portfolio
consists of strategic policy management, defense in depth practices, periodic risk assessments,
ongoing awareness communication and operational (e.g., security monitoring and incident
response, threat and vulnerability management, user provisioning) processes. For example:
• Cybersecurity Awareness and Training Program - OC San understands that our employees are
our best line of defense in protecting and defending our enterprise from attack. We have built a
comprehensive security awareness program by focusing on four critical functions: phishing attack
simulations and reporting, quarterly education requirements, targeted training for IT developers
and SCADA engineers, and pervasive communications utilizing internal communication tools.
• Vulnerability Management - IT staff subscribe to and monitor security advisories and threat
bulletins from Microsoft, US-CERT, ICS-CERT, KnowBe4, Cisco, and other vendors to understand
and manage new vulnerabilities. All internet accessible servers and applications are scanned
weekly for vulnerabilities and remediated, as necessary. Microsoft operating system and
application patches are deployed monthly while third party updates are deployed weekly. We use
a vulnerability platform for continuous assessment of our security and compliance posture.
• Intrusion Detection and Response - We have implemented several security solutions to be able
to detect, prevent and respond to malicious network activity. These include firewalls, intrusion
prevention systems, web security gateways, and next-generation anti-malware. In addition, we
also have user behavior analysis tools to identify insider threats and ransomware activity.
• Privileged Access Management Program - We use a privileged access management solution
to remove and manage local administrative rights on workstations/servers to prevent lateral
movement. The solution is also used to protect, control, and monitor privileged access across files
and systems.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 33
• Backup and Restore Capabilities - IT practices a 3-2-1 backup strategy:
3 – Keep three copies of critical data
2 – Have your data on two types of media
1 – One copy must be offsite and offline
Restores are performed on at least a weekly basis in response to customer incidents. Disaster
Recovery Testing is performed monthly by selecting a major system and testing restore capabilities
of that system to our secondary treatment facility. We isolate the restores and provide access to our
application subject matter experts to conduct application specific testing. These tests are logged and
kept for auditing and management purposes.
• Security Incident Response – A security incident response plan is an organized approach to handle
a cyberattack. We have developed an incident response plan, playbooks, and procedures for
various attacks as well as trained IT security staff. In addition, there are external contacts we can
call for assistance including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security
and organizations that specialize in incident response like Mandiant, Cylance, and Microsoft.
• Security Assessments - The purpose of a security assessment is to identify the current security
posture of a system, network, or organization. The assessment provides recommendations to
improve the security posture by mitigating identified risks. Our goal is to do one or two security
assessments per year.
Future Policy Statement
The main objective of our information security program is the establishment of a continuous,
iterative regimen of planning, building, running, and governing security capabilities that are derived
from business requirements. Our security program cannot be a static entity. It must be adapted and
continuously refined to keep pace with the ever-changing threat environment and changes in how
OC San adopts digital business practices. Cybersecurity incidents are inevitable. Mistakes and/or a
lack of preparation in the response can have serious repercussions. The ability of an organization
to respond effectively to a security incident is a direct result of the time spent preparing for such an
eventuality. If you fail to prepare, then you effectively prepare to fail. OC San will be prepared. This
will be accomplished by the following proposed initiatives.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Conduct various tabletop exercises to determine the organization’s ability to respond to a targeted
cyberattack and to improve the quality of the response, should an attack occur.
• Evaluate, enhance, and monitor network security including activities to protect the usability,
reliability, integrity, and safety of the network by developing Security Operations Center capabilities
that support continuous monitoring and is responsible for the continuous threat protection
process.
• Conduct a comprehensive third-party cybersecurity operations assessment (Red Team). A thorough
Red Team engagement will expose vulnerabilities and risks regarding:
o Technology — Networks, applications, routers, switches, appliances, etc.
o People — Staff, independent contractors, departments, business partners, etc.
o Physical — Offices, warehouses, substations, data centers, buildings, etc.
34 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Property Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) owns and operates assets throughout our service
area located in property owned in fee, through easements, and in the public right-of-way.
OC San will identify and protect all its property rights to assure that our assets are not encumbered
or encroached upon so that the facilities may be properly operated, maintained, upgraded, and
replaced.
Background
OC San owns and operates $12.6 billion in assets. A portion of those assets include buildings,
easements, rights-of-way, and other encroachments. OC San has a real property analyst that serves
as a resource in support of OC San’s real property assets. The position acts as project leader
and/or technical expert for real property matters, including purchase, sale, lease, rent, acquisition,
disposition, appraisal, inspection, title, right-of-way, easements, permits, licenses, contracts,
agreements, relocation, property and space management, and other related activities. Periodically,
OC San sells and purchases property to support its efforts. Since these transactions are limited
and not core to OC San, it has been determined that it is more cost effective to augment OC San
resources with contracted specialized real estate services.
Current Situation
OC San manages its physical property and property rights in support of Reclamation Plant No. 1,
Treatment Plant No. 2, fifteen pump stations, and 388 miles of trunk sewer lines in the Collection
System. The real property analyst works closely with Operations and Maintenance staff to
ensure that OC San has the necessary easements and rights-of-way for operations along with
unencumbered access for repairs and maintenance. Staff works with Engineering to obtain
property, easements, and rights-of-way to facilitate the completion of projects for our Capital
Improvement Program (CIP). Additionally, OC San manages landscaping, building maintenance, and
security for its facilities.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will effectively manage its property assets and actively maintain all encroachments,
encumbrances, easements, and rights-of-way. When prudent, OC San will augment resources with
contracted specialized real estate and property management services. OC San staff will work to
support the property needs of Operations and Maintenance and the CIP.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Leverage technology to review property rights and identify encroachments or encumbrances
that restrict operation, maintenance, inspection, or emergency repair access to remove
encroachments or encumbrances.
• Collaborate with Engineering to obtain property, easements, and rights-of-way in a timely manner
for capital projects.
• Augment OC San resources with contracted specialized real estate services to limit the need for
additional staffing.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 35
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach Policy Paper
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will create and disseminate information to our
stakeholders with an end goal to educate, inform, and garner support for the services provided,
thus allowing us to operate in a more efficient and effective manner. OC San will deliver messages
that are accurate, transparent, and designed to foster public trust and confidence. Additionally,
following legislative activity will ensure OC San’s interests are explained and considered.
Background
OC San provides regional sewer service for 2.6 million people living, working, and commuting in
central and northwest Orange County. The various stakeholders include over 600 employees,
50 local elected officials appointed to our Board of Directors, regulators, policy makers, and the
public. It is critical for OC San to have a multi-pronged outreach program to reach the intended
audiences and to gain support for OC San’s mission.
OC San provides services and tools to effectively communicate about the various programs that
help achieve its mission. These programs include:
• Student Educational Outreach
OC San is interested in promoting and educating the youth within our service area on OC San’s
mission and the essential services we provide. Reaching out to students allows for future
generations to be aware of the environmental impact we each make and what we can accomplish
working together. This knowledge will help our future generations to act and make positive
changes. It also introduces them to an industry that they may be unaware of as a career choice.
We do this through programs such as Inside the Outdoors which goes directly into classrooms to
teach the wastewater treatment process; school-based plant tours that give them an inside view
into a treatment plant and how the system works; events such as the Children’s Water Festival,
which provides an opportunity to reach thousands of local children in a short amount of time with
clear and direct messaging; our partnership with the Heritage Museum, and contests such as
the Public Service Announcement which is an incentive for students to get involved in developing
messages for environmental issues.
• Infrastructure Outreach
OC San has $12.6 billion in infrastructure that must be designed, operated, maintained, replaced,
and enhanced to continue providing the essential service of protecting public health and the
environment. Forming a positive presence in the community prior to the start of construction
projects or maintenance activities is imperative to build trust, understanding, and support for the
necessary construction. This is done through an extensive outreach program that develops and
implements communication tools to engage the communities affected by OC San construction
projects. This includes dedicated community liaisons, construction webpages, collateral material,
presentations, etc. Over the next fiscal year, about two dozen projects will be in construction with
various degrees of public impacts.
• Employee Engagement
Open and honest communication with our employees creates a positive and trusting environment
which can result in a more engaged workforce and ambassadors for our agency. OC San creates
employee engagement by utilizing various communication methods to share agency-wide
36 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
messages. A diverse toolkit of communication pieces allows messages to be delivered to over
600 staff with various professional backgrounds, work shifts, work locations, and access to
online materials. This toolkit of communication pieces includes The San Box (intranet), Pipeline
Newsletter, Three Things to Know email, etc.
• Brand Recognition
As an industry leader, OC San must ensure its brand and image are portrayed accurately and
positively. A cohesive voice, message, look, and feel are critical to maintaining a positive public
perception and the trust granted to us by the community we serve and the stakeholders we
work with. To build and maintain a positive image, we engage in general outreach efforts such
as plant tours; community newsletters; a Speakers Bureau Program (which allows us to go into
the community and meet with various groups to inform them of who we are and what we do); an
informative and educational website, an active social media presence; and the development of
programs such as Wastewater 101 Academy which provides an opportunity to showcase OC San’s
operations and initiatives for our ratepayers, fellow agencies, and influential public.
• Regulatory and Legislative Advocacy
OC San also recognizes the need for an active regulatory and legislative advocacy program at the
local, state, and federal levels to ensure that the interests of the rate payers and the Board of
Directors are communicated, understood, and supported. Towards this end, the legislative and
regulatory team actively monitors and engages officials across California and in Washington, D.C.,
and takes appropriate action in support of, or opposition to, legislative and regulatory initiatives.
Current Situation
OC San is an industry leader involved in innovative and significant programs. However, it is most
often seen as a silent utility due to its consistent attainment of its mission. News coverage for a
wastewater resource recovery agency is most often about a mission failure. People tend not to
think about their wastewater or where it goes until a beach is closed or a spill occurs.
In addition, OC San has no direct connection to its ratepayers. User fees are paid via property tax
bills thus eliminating an opportunity to reach our customers directly. This ultimately results in a
limited understanding of OC San, what we do, and the important service provided to the community.
OC San’s outreach efforts are imperative to positively inform and educate the public we serve about
the value we provide, including policy makers and regulators.
OC San actively works with other public agencies in its service area to develop opportunities to
provide additional value from the assets we own and operate to the ratepayers we serve. Initiatives
like dry weather urban runoff diversion, conversion of food waste to energy and compost, and full
reclamation of wastewater to potable water are examples of public-to-public partnerships.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will creatively and effectively develop communication tools and tactics to inform and
educate our various stakeholders. As a silent utility, is it imperative that OC San connect with the
public we serve in a clear and transparent way to create a bank of trust, and garner support for the
programs that allow us to continue protecting the public health and the environment.
OC San will maintain an active legislative and regulatory outreach program to help inform and guide
leaders to ensure the wastewater industry is able to protect the public health and environment in a
cost-effective way.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 37
OC San will engage with other local government entities and nonprofit organizations to coordinate
our existing messaging and services; and will search for new and innovative ways to add more value
from our assets and operations.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Develop an educational display in the Headquarters building to illustrate OC San’s reuse and
recycling efforts in support of the environment and public health. Display to be revealed when
new building is unveiled. Phase 2 of the hands-on educational display will consist of content on
the exterior of the building to create a complete experience from walking up to OC San to entering
the building.
• Implement a multipronged outreach strategy that will include industry and media coverage for the
Supercritical Water Oxidation project.
• Develop and implement a Local Government Affairs Outreach Program to enhance OC San
business goals and build local relationships that benefit OC San, cities we serve, member
agencies, and officials.
• Engage a local lobbyist to assist in advancing strategic initiatives as identified within the Strategic Plan.
• Actively monitor and engage in regulatory and legislative activity across California and
Washington, D.C., and take appropriate action in support of, or opposition to, legislative and
regulatory initiatives affecting OC San and the wastewater industry. This includes using Monitoring
and Analysis, Advocacy Days, Position letters and Funding Requests (as deemed suitable).
38 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 39
EnvironmentalStewardship
40 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Energy Independence Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will strive to be energy neutral. Electrical, thermal,
and methane gas generation will be maximized. Energy utilization will be minimized using sound
engineering and financial principles.
Background
OC San strives to maximize the positive impacts of its operation between land, air, and water. For
example, as an agency dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, OC San is an
industry leader in protecting ocean health and providing a drought-proof and reliable local water
supply through the Groundwater Replenishment System, which is currently the world’s largest
potable reuse project. A natural result of wastewater treatment is the separation and concentration
of solid and gaseous materials which provide opportunities to create sustainable and renewable
energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
OC San is also committed to be a good neighbor. As such, significant amounts of energy are spent
capturing and converting odorous air and vapor streams. OC San has pursued a comprehensive
program to cover and seal its liquid and solid processes. Air streams are ducted to large fans which
move thousands of cubic feet of foul air per minute through chemical, biological, and activated
carbon beds to scrub the air of odorants that are regulated or may be perceived as a nuisance by
the community.
OC San has utilized an anaerobic digestion process that relies on biological conversion of solid
organic material to methane and carbon dioxide gas or biogas. The biogas is converted to electrical
and heat energy in power plants for internal use. OC San’s secondary treatment system is another
example of using energy to convert water impacts to air emissions. Approximately 23 percent of
OC San’s energy usage within the treatment process is devoted to aerating water so biological
agents can convert soluble organic material to nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The generation of
energy itself creates an impact on the environment in air and thermal emissions.
Current Situation
The potential exists to further shift environmental impacts between land, air, and water through the
utilization of energy. OC San is an environmental steward that seeks to maximize the harvesting of
energy available in the incoming wastewater.
On the energy use side of the ledger, OC San invests prudently in lifecycle energy efficiency to
minimize the use of energy to achieve its mission. Pumping systems to lift water and move material
are at premium efficiency. Thermal energy is harvested from power production for use in the
process and to heat and cool occupied buildings. Aeration compressors and diffusers are selected
by overall efficiency. Lighting systems are upgraded over time to more efficient technologies and
lighting levels are balanced between safety and security needs versus energy utilization and light
pollution concerns. Facility designers and operators make careful choices regarding the utilization
of every watt of electricity, BTU of heat, and therm of gas consumed.
On the energy generation side of the ledger, OC San seeks to maximize the internal creation
of energy. The primary source of energy creation is in biogas. Organic solids collected and
concentrated in the water treatment processes are converted biologically to biogas composed of
65 percent methane, 34 percent carbon dioxide, and other trace constituents. OC San has been
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 41
using this technology since the 1950s. Research has been ongoing since that time to maximize the
production of digester gas. Some of the areas of research include improved mixing and heating;
improved feeding; chemical addition to limit trace pollutant production; introduction of food waste;
injection of fats, oils, grease; cell lysing; and microaeration to minimize hydrogen sulfide production.
OC San cleans the biogas and converts this biogas into electricity, heat, and exhaust gas. The
exhaust gas is regulated even more tightly for nitrogen compounds, carbon monoxide, particulates,
and volatile organic compounds which require costly and performance degrading engine control
technologies. This is another example of an air impact/energy trade off. These internal systems
of energy harvesting provide roughly 66 percent of OC San’s electrical demand and 92 percent
of OC San’s thermal demand in the treatment plants. OC San can shift the digester gas between
treatment plants via an interplant pipeline and has roughly 11 MW of additional generation capacity
if more gas is produced. The additional capacity was originally designed to provide standby to the
large outfall pumping system during an electric utility power outage using natural gas.
In addition, OC San has a 5 MW, 32 MWh electrical battery storage system at Plant No. 1. The
operation of this system is scheduled by Southern California Edison to offset plant loads and
reduce the demand on the electric utility grid for during peak demand times in the early evening
hours when solar produces little to no energy.
Future Policy Statement
OC San seeks to be energy independent by self-generating all the electrical and thermal energy
necessary to sustain its operations. This will be accomplished by economically minimizing its
utilization requirements and maximizing energy harvested from the wastewater it receives. Energy
independence will improve OC San’s environmental impact and improve its operational reliability
and resiliency. The Plant No. 1 electricity imports vary between 1 MW and 6 MW, based on the time
of day and if the battery storage system is charging or discharging. Currently, the Plant No. 2 load is
close to zero on average.
OC San will also study and use photovoltaic cells in non-process areas where it makes economic
sense. For example, the new Headquarters Building will include photovoltaic panels linked to the
treatment plant. Staff will also investigate the installation of photovoltaic arrays over OC San owned
property between the treatment plants with additional battery storage systems.
OC San will also investigate the treatment and sale of biogas to external users. The State of
California has set goals for renewable energy utilization for electrical production and hydrogen
transportation fuels. OC San’s biogas is viewed favorably in these industries to meet the State of
California targets. OC San is working very diligently and creatively to maximize the production of
gas and reduce its own energy needs. The selling of biogas would require additional natural gas or
electricity to offset the loss of electricity generated using biogas.
Staff recommends that innovative research continue to maximize energy harvesting and to
minimize energy usage to make OC San energy independent in the most basic mission of protecting
the public health and the environment. Supercritical Water Oxidation and other biosolids thermal
conversion technologies offer some exciting opportunities to cut power use, reduce diesel fueled
transportation, and create useful energy.
42 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Maximize the anaerobic digestion conversion of organics to methane through receipt of food
waste and operational techniques.
• Investigate and install energy storage and photovoltaic systems where practical to achieve energy
independence/resilience.
• Investigate the treatment and sale of biogas to external users.
• Continue to support the conversion of biomethane into electricity and heat for process use.
Improve systems as necessary to comply with air regulations.
• Pursue technology innovation to reduce energy use, reduce transportation energy impacts, and
reduce greenhouse gas impacts.
• Investigate the optimum wastewater influent flow split between Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2 that
satisfies the Orange County Water District specification water requirements and energy efficiency.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 43
Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) aims to design, maintain, and operate valuable
wastewater assets that withstand or adapt to adverse conditions in a reasonable manner that is
both cost-effective and sustainable for present and future generations. These adverse conditions
include drought, heavy rains, flooding, sea level rise, earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme heat,
wildfires, pandemic, and electrical grid interruptions.
Background
OC San owns and operates extensive wastewater collection and treatment facilities valued at
$12.6 billion. OC San’s service area faces special challenges because of the geographic location of
its facilities. These challenges include: its position on and near seismic risk factors, its proximity to
the Pacific Coast, adjacency of its treatment facilities to the Santa Ana River, and being served by
increasingly fragile energy utilities.
OC San’s facilities are situated on or near several seismic risk factors. Plant No. 2 is located
directly on top of the Newport-Inglewood fault. Both plants and the collection system are influenced
by many adjacent major and minor faults capable of delivering damaging energy. Both of our
treatment plants and most of our collection system sit on top of silty, alluvial soils that can have
the effect of amplifying the earth motion and risk liquefaction during a seismic event. OC San
has invested significantly over the last 50 years to improve the soils, foundations, and structures
to mitigate these seismic risks. As geotechnical and structural knowledge and building codes
progress, upgrades and facility replacements will be necessary.
Another seismic risk associated with having a treatment plant and several pump stations located
on the Pacific Coast is the risk of tsunami inundation. OC San has been working with and reviewing
the plans of the City of Huntington Beach and the City of Newport Beach to understand and quantify
this risk. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has created a new standard, ASCE 7-22, to
layout design parameters for lateral forces and inundation zone associated with potential tsunamis.
OC San understands that climactic factors we face change widely over time. OC San’s systems must
perform in extreme wet weather situations (atmospheric rivers), extreme dry weather conditions
(drought), extreme tidal conditions (king tides, rising sea levels), and high and low temperature
extremes. OC San generally designs for historical and expected “average conditions” for optimal
performance but must also assure operations for extreme weather events.
OC San serves a critical public health role. Its operations must be reliable 24 hours per day, 365
days a year. Electricity, and to a lesser extent natural gas, are necessary for pumping and treatment
operations. Both electricity and natural gas supplies have become increasingly vulnerable to
interruption. Electricity deliveries are more vulnerable due to wildfire outage criteria, loss of local
generation assets, aging infrastructure, and extreme weather events. Natural gas supplies are more
vulnerable due to the loss of local storage capacity, aging infrastructure, line corrosion, and more
stringent regulatory requirements. OC San has significant capacity to self-supply critical energy
requirement for extended periods.
Current Situation
OC San has spent considerable effort quantifying its seismic, climate, and utility supply risks.
Several key studies were completed over the past several years. The most acute risk factor faced by
OC San is seismic risk. Climate and utility supply risks are more accurately described as
chronic risks.
44 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Seismic risk factors include ground shaking, liquefaction, lateral spreading, and fault rupture. Both
treatment plants are situated in historic riverbed with poor soil conditions. The collection system
is vulnerable to failures during seismic events. State of the art seismic design has changed greatly
over OC San’s history and will continue to do so. Many of our critical structures were designed
or installed prior to the advancements that occurred because of the various earthquakes of the
1990s. Significant effort has been expended to better characterize the soil conditions under our
treatment plants and pump stations. Projects to replace existing unit processes will be scoped
and budgeted to provide seismic resilience. These measures include soil mixing to stiffen the soil,
various foundation designs, and building structure improvements. For refurbished facilities, the
cost to provide soil improvements for existing structures to mitigate liquefaction will be evaluated
based on the importance of the structure and the associated impact on pumping and treatment
plant operations during dry weather conditions.
Tsunami resilience and flooding protection can go hand in hand. Tsunami protection requires
a more robust wall footing and wall structure. To a great extent, these two risk factors can be
mitigated in the same way. The tsunami guidelines for inundation in ASCE 7-22 are a reasonable
peer reviewed standard. By complying with this standard for Huntington Beach and Newport Beach,
OC San will be reasonably prepared for flooding caused by extreme storm events and conservative
sea level rise estimates at Plant No. 2 and pump stations in the City of Newport Beach. A tsunami
wall has been designed for a large portion of the southern perimeter wall of Plant No. 2. A future
project will construct the remaining portion of the tsunami wall.
OC San has also expended significant effort to prepare for the effects of weather extremes on its
operations. Extreme wet weather impacts operations. Inflow and infiltration during intense storm
activity have multiplied average dry weather flow rate by up to three times in past years. During
recent storms, peak wet weather flows have exhibited fewer extreme peaks due to inflow and
infiltration improvements throughout the collections system. OC San has significant wet weather
capacity and will continue to maintain a 640 million gallon per day influent and outfall capacity
which is roughly 3.5 times our average dry weather flow. Historically, high rains as seen in 1863,
1938, 2017, and 2023 will push our systems to the limit. Recently we are seeing king-tides higher
than previously anticipated which is impacting our coastal pump stations.
OC San has also adapted its systems to perform in extreme dry weather. OC San, in cooperation
with the Orange County Water District, operates the largest potable water reuse system in the
world. This is made possible by replumbing our treatment plants and adding new smaller pump
stations to deal with extreme low outfall flow rates during dry weather conditions. OC San can also
shift significant influent flow from Plant No. 1 to Plant No. 2 through the interplant line and a portion
of the flow from Plant No. 2 to Plant No. 1, which creates additional resilience for risk factors.
Finally, on the topic of utility supply, OC San built redundant supplies for its most critical needs:
electricity, natural gas, and water. OC San has maintained three sources of electricity supply for
more than 25 years. The treatment plants can be supplied with power from Southern California
Edison, OC San’s Central Generation Plants, or onsite diesel generation systems to maintain
basic operation to protect public health. In terms of natural gas, OC San has been producing bio-
methane through anaerobic digestion since the 1950s with enough capacity to provide electricity
for half of the loads at Plant No. 1, all the loads at Plant No. 2, heating and cooling loads at
Plant No. 1, and heating loads at Plant No. 2. Select pump stations are provided with standby
generators and 24 hours of fuel for pump stations that require response in two hours or less during
a power supply failure. Portable generator connections are being installed at the pump stations to
provide increased reliability and maintain pump station operation in the event the onsite standby
generators fail or there is an electrical fault.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 45
Future Policy Statement
OC San will continue to build and improve its facilities to meet the seismic, climate and energy
infrastructure risks that it faces with a long-term, planned approach. Acute life-safety risks that
are identified or facilities that are damaged or fail in a catastrophic event will be addressed very
quickly. However, it is not practical to update $12.6 billion in facilities every time a code is updated,
or a new climate change estimate is released. OC San will stay abreast of code and climate change
estimates as they occur and will implement improvements or replacements to facilities on a
long-term basis in line with its asset management practices. OC San generally plans to refurbish
or replace its mechanical and electrical assets every 20 to 25 years with an average capital
improvement investment of $300 million per year over the next 10 years.
OC San facilities are designed to meet industry codes. As time goes on and codes are updated,
it is not required to upgrade existing facilities to meet those latest codes unless there is a
mandate to do so, or an unacceptable risk in not doing so is recognized. OC San will accept some
incremental risk in having some facilities that are not necessarily compliant with latest building
codes until a project to rehabilitate or replace these facilities is developed. All of OC San’s facilities
have a planned life span with two to three refurbishment cycles. Identified seismic or flooding
vulnerabilities may drive a replacement versus refurbishment decision in the normal capital
planning process.
OC San will continue to aspire to energy independence which will help mitigate vulnerabilities to
loss of electrical and gas utilities. In addition, OC San will continue to maintain third level, diesel
generator, electrical supply capability for critical loads. Onsite diesel storage will provide up to 48
hours of fuel to power the plants. Pump stations diesel generation will be site specific in its design
based on flow risks, hydraulic storage capacity, and site constraints. Either onsite generation or
quickly deployable mobile generators will provide standby power.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal:
• Evaluate the seismic vulnerabilities of Plant No. 2 flow processes (primary clarifiers, activated
sludge facility, and ocean outfall piping) within the plant. Determine the required improvements
to maintain dry weather flow capacity after a seismic event. Incorporate necessary upgrades into
future capital improvement projects.
• Complete the biannual high flow exercise to assure readiness for a high flow event. Maintain a
higher level of readiness October 15 through March 15 and in advance of predicted significant
rain events.
46 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Food Waste Treatment Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The State of California limits the volume of organic waste that is diverted to landfills. The Orange
County Sanitation District (OC San) will collaborate with the County of Orange, other local agencies,
and waste haulers to find ways to beneficially reuse food waste, a type of organic waste to assist
cities in our service area in meeting their diversion requirements while increasing OC San’s energy
production.
Background
Whether supplying secondary treated wastewater for the Groundwater Replenishment System,
creating renewable energy in the form of biogas from anaerobic digestion to produce electricity, or
benefiting from the use of biosolids as a soil amendment, OC San is a resource recovery agency
committed to providing resilient and reliable wastewater treatment service while protecting the
public health and the environment.
In recent years, there has been a significant change in the regulatory landscape regarding the
management of organics in California. This encompasses a range of materials including food,
green waste, wood, paper, biosolids, digestate, and sludges, all of which are typically disposed of
in the landfills. Currently, much of the state’s diverted organics undergo composting or serve as
alternative daily cover on landfills. In response to the impending phaseout of organics as alternative
daily cover, a regulatory shift is creating an organics market within the wastewater sector that is
providing a solution to manage organics such as food waste by way of co-digestion. Co-digestion is
the mixing of sewage solids and food waste in an anerobic digester to create biogas. There is an
opportunity for OC San to produce additional biogas, reducing the reliance to purchase electricity
from local utilities.
Anaerobic digestion is currently at the nexus of important mandates within California, namely:
(1) organics diversion from landfills (AB 1826 and SB 1383), and (2) increased renewable energy
and fuels generation (SB 32 and SB 100). The primary alternatives for organics management
are anaerobic digestion and composting — of which anaerobic digestion is the only process
offering energy recovery potential. Over the next few years, California’s cities and counties, along
with municipal solid waste haulers, material recovery facilities, and landfills will need to develop
collection, processing, and energy recovery infrastructure to address new state legislation and
goals. In this context, existing wastewater treatment plants such as OC San are uniquely positioned
to play a role in the new organics’ marketplace since solid waste management facilities do not
typically have anaerobic digesters, the energy recovery infrastructure in place, or experience
regarding the management of biosolids for beneficial use.
In 2017, OC San completed a comprehensive Biosolids Master Plan (Plan) that provides a roadmap
and framework for sustainable and cost-effective biosolids management options and future capital
facilities improvement over a 20-year planning horizon. Considering the timeliness of the regulatory
mandates requiring organic diversion from landfills and increased renewable energy, the Plan
evaluated the feasibility of implementing a high strength organic waste receiving program involving
the co-digestion of preprocessed food waste.
While food waste digestion appears to be feasible, OC San’s existing infrastructure is not well
suited or permitted for receiving, handling, or digesting green waste. Current digester feed, mixing,
heating, dewatering and truck loading facilities aren’t designed to deal with cellulosic products
in green waste. The highly fibrous material does not readily break down and clogs the various
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 47
systems optimized for sewage sludge treatment. In addition, there are legal hurdles specified in
the California Health and Safety Code, Section 4700, that must be addressed before OC San could
operate a solid waste refuse transfer facility.
Current Situation
Project Viability
OC San’s Plan concluded that the costs to construct and operate a food waste receiving facility
could be offset by tipping fees charged to food waste processors/haulers and by additional power
generated from the increased digester gas production. The Plan recommended that OC San build
an interim food waste receiving station immediately to take advantage of existing digestion and
power generation capacity of approximately 150-250 wet tons per day at Plant No. 2. OC San will
construct a more permanent facility in the future to utilize OC San’s available capacity.
Based on these recommendations, in 2018, OC San’s Board approved a project (P2-124) to
construct an interim (10 to 15-year service life) food waste facility to receive, store, and feed
preprocessed food waste slurry to the digester complex at Plant No. 2 to generate additional
digester gas. The facility is designed to accept approximately 150 wet tons per day of preprocessed
food waste and will produce approximately 15 percent more methane gas for on-site energy
production, resulting in a greenhouse gas reduction of approximately 10,800 metric tons of carbon
dioxide which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases generated by approximately 2,000
passenger vehicles. This is consistent with OC San’s Energy Independence Policy which is to strive
to be energy neutral by minimizing energy utilization and maximizing useful energy recovery from
the wastewater it receives.
The final biosolids product currently produced by OC San is anticipated to be largely unaffected
by the addition of food waste slurry. Pilot testing conducted by OC San indicates that there will be
increased gas production due to mixing sewage sludge and food waste feed stock, but the final
biosolids product will remain largely unchanged.
A draft Preliminary Design Report was issued in June 2019 for the interim receiving facility which
included a viability evaluation concluding that the project is economically justifiable based on
project costs and anticipated tipping fees. Final design of the interim food waste receiving station
is complete and ready to bid for construction. The 2019-2020 tipping fee was established by the
Board of Directors and the food waste slurry specifications were developed by OC San staff.
Between 2020 and early 2023, OC San hosted quarterly check-in meetings with several large
municipal solid waste haulers to discuss procuring pre-processed food waste slurry. Although most
haulers expressed interest in working with OC San, none were willing to meet OC San’s food waste
slurry specifications.
In spring 2023, OC San initiated a series of meetings with Orange County wastewater digester owners
and Orange County Waste and Recycling (OCWR) to discuss partnership opportunities for in-county
food waste preprocessing, co-digestion, composting, biosolids management, and biogas production.
The meetings were highly productive, and as of August 2023, the parties have agreed to assess
the feasibility of constructing a centralized food waste pre-processing facility at an OCWR landfill to
provide high-quality food waste slurry for co-digestion at in-county wastewater treatment plants.
Future Policy Statement
Food Waste Slurry
OC San will only accept a preprocessed food waste slurry. We do not have land or air permits to
handle, sort, and process solid or green waste. OC San will work with other regional partners to
48 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
develop a county-wide standard for food waste slurry that specifies water, organic, metal, plastic,
and glass content requirements. A common specification for slurry will help all parties make
investment decisions.
Food Waste Volume
OC San plans to construct a permanent food waste facility based on the lessons learned from the
interim system and the anticipated availability of food waste feedstock. The permanent facility will
be able to accept up to 300 wet tons per day and utilize the total available capacity of the existing
digesters and gas compressors. OC San also has at least 6 MW of installed electrical generation
capacity that can convert the produced digester gas to electricity and heat.
OC San believes that the full implementation of the current regulations will create a food waste
slurry market significantly greater than 500 wet tons per day in Southern California.
Tipping Fee Basis
The acceptance of food waste has the opportunity to more fully utilize the system capacity that
already exists for the benefit of OC San’s rate payers.
OC San staff will develop an updated base tipping fee rate schedule for Board of Directors’
approval that meets the following criteria:
• Recover all capital costs to construct facilities within ten years (this will allow OC San and waste
haulers to properly invest in processing facilities).
• Recover all on-going costs including operating cost, maintenance cost, electricity usage,
biosolids dewatering, and reuse costs.
• Food waste will not be operated “for profit” but rather a cost recovered service with tipping fees
offsetting costs to not impact OC San’s wastewater service fee structure. Food waste generated
and processed within the service area will be charged the base rate and will be prioritized
over food waste from outside the service area. This is justified by the fact that the underlying
infrastructure of OC San is already owned by service area rate payers. OC San contracts with
service area waste haulers must provide for a pass-through savings to OC San ratepayers. That
means waste haulers may charge for collection and processing of food waste but must disclose
OC San’s tipping fees and negotiate pricing adjustments as necessary with City or Special
District franchise partners.
If additional capacity exists, but isn’t utilized by in-service area users, then that capacity may be
contracted by out-of-service area users at a premium to help offset the cost of the underlying
infrastructure necessary to process the food waste.
OC San will pursue grant opportunities to the extent possible to reduce the overall capital and
operating cost basis for the program to reduce the tipping fee base rate.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• OC San will accept a preprocessed food waste slurry from an in-county partner that is
compatible with its existing anaerobic digesters. OC San will charge a tipping fee to offset its
costs for capital construction, operations, handling, maintenance, and biosolids disposal.
• Design, build, and operate a food waste receiving station. Utilize a county-wide specification for
food waste slurry and contract with OCWR to receive and co-digest food waste slurry.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 49
50 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Water Reuse Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will seek to beneficially reuse all reclaimable water
for potable, industrial, irrigation and environmental uses.
Background
For over 40 years, OC San and the Orange County Water District (OCWD) have partnered to
beneficially reuse treated wastewater from OC San. OCWD, which serves roughly the same service
area as OC San, manages and replenishes the groundwater basin in northern and central Orange
County, ensures water reliability and quality, prevents seawater intrusion, and protects Orange
County’s rights to Santa Ana River water.
Beginning in 1975, OC San contributed treated wastewater from its Plant No. 1 to OCWD for the
operation of Water Factory 21, which reclaimed the treated wastewater and injected it along with
deep well water into the groundwater basin to prevent seawater intrusion. In the mid-1990s, OCWD
needed to expand Water Factory 21. At the same time, OC San faced the challenge of having to
build a second ocean outfall pipe to discharge treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Both
agencies collaborated to build an advanced water purification facility to resolve these challenges.
This state-of-the-art facility, known as the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), took the
place of Water Factory 21, and began operation in 2008.
The GWRS further treats secondary treated wastewater from OC San Plant Nos. 1 and 2 to drinking
water standards and uses the purified water for both injection and percolation, through injection
wells and recharge basins, as source water to replenish the groundwater basin’s drinking water
supplies. With approximately 75 percent of the water demand in northern and central Orange
County cities coming from the groundwater basin, GWRS supplements existing water supplies by
providing a new, reliable, high-quality source of water. OC San made a considerable investment to
improve its level of treatment and source control to support the GWRS partnership. The upgrade to
full secondary treatment and shifting the source control regulations, testing, and enforcement from
a focus on ocean discharge to drinking water supply was very significant.
While the original GWRS facility was initially constructed to supply up to 70 million gallons per
day (MGD) of purified water, the facility was designed for an ultimate treatment and conveyance
capacity of 130 MGD. The Final Expansion of GWRS was completed in December 2022 and can
produce a maximum capacity of 130 MGD.
In addition to providing treated wastewater to the GWRS, OC San also provides treated water to
OCWD’s Green Acres Project and OC San uses treated effluent within the treatment plants to offset
potable water use. The Green Acres Project provides recycled water for landscape irrigation at
parks, schools, and golf courses; industrial uses, such as carpet dying; toilet flushing; and power
generation cooling. OC San uses nearly 10 MGD of treated effluent, called Plant Water, within the
treatment plants for engine and equipment cooling, polymer make-down, equipment flushing and
washdown, and other uses.
Current Situation
The GWRS currently produces up to 130 MGD of purified water – enough water for 1 million people.
All of OC San’s Plant No. 1 secondary effluent and Plant No. 2 secondary reclaimable effluent
is made available to OCWD for the GWRS and Green Acres Project. Non-reclaimable secondary
effluent from OC San’s Plant No. 2, such as discharges from inland desalters, GWRS’s reverse
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 51
osmosis process, and OC San’s process sidestreams, are appropriately treated and released into
the ocean.
Future Policy Statement
The treated effluent produced from OC San’s Plant Nos. 1 and 2 is a valuable resource that
can help boost local water resources, improve groundwater quality, and reduce dependence on
imported water, while reducing the volume of effluent discharged to the ocean.
OC San will continue to support GWRS by providing secondary effluent as source water free of
charge; allowing OCWD to discharge brine via OC San’s ocean outfall free of charge; leasing
approximately 10 acres of land to OCWD at $1 per year for GWRS; and allowing OCWD to discharge
North and South Basin extraction well flows to OC San sewers.
OC San will continue to maximize the delivery of secondary effluent available to GWRS and the
Green Acres Project to maximize full production of purified recycled water for indirect potable reuse,
and industrial and irrigational uses. The two agencies regularly communicate and coordinate on
operations and construction projects, regulatory compliance, and source water quality to sustain
reliable GWRS operation.
OC San has adequate flow to maximize the production of the GWRS. OC San, OCWD, and Orange
County Public Works (OCPW) are currently studying opportunities to utilize the available 10 MGD
sewer capacity allocated to dry weather urban runoff under OC San’s Urban Runoff Resolution
No. OCSD 13-09. Urban runoff diversions will be utilized during dry weather conditions and
jointly monitored by the dischargers and OC San to avoid surcharges in the collection system and
introduction of contaminants that may compromise OC San’s water and biosolids reuse initiative.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Support Groundwater Replenishment System and maximize reclaimable wastewater availability to
OCWD.
• Support Green Acres project water production to provide reclaimed water for industrial and
irrigation uses.
• Conduct a Dry Weather Urban Runoff Optimization Study in collaboration with OCWD and OCPW to
identify additional opportunity to accept up to 10 MGD of dry weather urban runoff.
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Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management,
and Urban Runoff Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will collaborate with regional stakeholders to accept
up to ten (10) million gallons per day of dry weather urban runoff at no cost to the dischargers
through its permit-based Dry Weather Urban Runoff Diversion Program (DWURD Program). The
primary objective of the DWURD Program is to improve water quality in streams, rivers, and
beaches in OC San’s service area without adversely impacting OC San’s occupational safety,
collection and treatment systems, reuse initiatives, or permit compliance. Unauthorized discharge
of urban runoff to OC San is strictly prohibited.
Background
OC San is a regional governmental agency principally chartered to protect public health and the
environment through an extensive regional sanitary sewer system and a highly effective wastewater
treatment operation. The governing Board of Directors (Board) has refined this role to include the
recovery and utilization of resources from wastewater for the public good. In addition to beneficial
reuse of biosolids and responsible ocean discharge, OC San delivers high-quality treated wastewater
to Orange County Water District’s (OCWD) Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) for advance
treatment and purification followed by storage in the Orange County groundwater basin.
OC San operates its regional wastewater collection system in accordance with its Sewer System
Management Plan, which was developed in compliance with the California Statewide General
Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems, Water Quality Order No. WQ 2022-
0103-DWQ. The Board periodically updates OC San’s Wastewater Discharge Regulations Ordinance
(Ordinance) to set uniform requirements for all users of OC San’s system and enables OC San to
comply with all applicable state and federal regulations. The Ordinance establishes limits on all
wastewater discharges which may adversely affect OC San’s system and includes language that
prohibits sewer users from discharging groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, or subsurface
drainage to the sewer without written authorization or a valid permit. Uncontrolled discharge of any
type is strictly prohibited and any person who violates any provision of the Ordinance is subject to
administrative, civil, and criminal penalties.
Most of the local sanitary sewer systems within OC San’s highly urbanized service area are owned
and operated by cities, water districts, or sanitary districts. These local systems are designed to
transport wastewater from homes and businesses to OC San’s regional sewers. These local and
regional wastewater systems are designed to be wholly separate from Orange County’s Municipal
Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4), which is a system of conveyances that includes roads,
streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains that carry
surface runoff into receiving waters and is regulated by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality
Control Board. Throughout the year, dry and wet weather urban runoff are collected through the
MS4 and discharged along the coastline.
During wet weather, the vast majority of urban runoff is comprised of stormwater from rainfall
that either travels at a flow rate that does not allow enough time to soak into the ground or whose
volume has exceeded the ability of the soil to hold any more moisture. In communities with a high
percentage of covered or impervious surfaces, the runoff volume and velocity can be considerably
greater when compared to rural areas. Additionally, sheets of runoff in these communities can
pick up pollutants and debris from transportation, construction, industrial, and residential sources
as they travel by gravity toward storm drains or other low points. Stormwater runoff carries trash,
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 53
debris, bacteria, chemicals, oil, silt, sediments, microplastics, and other common and emerging
contaminants, and is the responsibility of MS4 permittees, who typically have jurisdiction over land
use practices and flood control.
During wet weather, the volume of surface runoff is well beyond the capacity of OC San’s
conveyance and treatment systems. Inflow and infiltration into the sanitary sewer system during
storm events can strain the hydraulic capacity of OC San to its limit of under 1,000 cubic feet
per second. In addition, storm flow runoff also contains a much greater debris load that would
compromise the sanitary sewer system.
During dry weather, OC San has the capacity normally reserved for inflow and infiltration to accept
urban runoff. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) required of MS4 permit holders such as
screening, street sweeping, spill prevention, and waste reduction campaigns help to effectively
remove trash, silt, and other debris which help make these relatively small flows more compatible
with the sanitary sewer. However, pollutants and pathogens that are not removed by the BMPs
are carried by runoff from sources such as excess outdoor irrigation into storm drains which is
discharged along the coastline.
In response to the significant and persistent adverse impacts from urban runoff to coastal beaches
and waters, OC San sought support from the California legislature to accept controlled discharge
of surface urban runoff into its wastewater system and was authorized in April 2000 to initiate
a permit-based DWURD Program to accept up to three (3) million gallons of dry weather flow per
day. OC San Board Resolution No. 00-04 allowed local agencies to apply for a Dry Weather Urban
Runoff (DWUR) Permit where there was not an economically or practically feasible alternative and
permittees are subject to requirements of the Ordinance.
Since its inception, the DWURD Program has significantly improved beach water quality throughout
OC San’s service area as evidenced by excellent ratings in Heal the Bay’s Annual Beach Report
Cards and a notable decrease in water quality-based beach closures. In June 2013, OC San
modified the Dry Weather Urban Runoff Policy (Resolution No. 13-09) to cap discharges received
to ten (10) million gallons per day (MGD) and waived fees associated with the program until
discharges exceeded 10 MGD, or until the policy is revised. The Board established an action
threshold of 9 MGD to trigger revisiting the policy.
In addition to DWURD Permits, OC San’s Ordinance allows for normally prohibited wastes such as
groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, and subsurface drainage to be discharged to OC San through
a Special Purpose Discharge Permit (SPDP) or written authorization from OC San when no alternate
method of disposal is reasonably available to mitigate an environmental risk or health hazard.
Both DWURD and Special Purpose Discharge permits carry strict wet weather shut-off and debris
limiting provisions to protect the sanitary sewer system from hydraulic overload and the associated
sewer spills. These permits also require flow monitoring and constituent sampling so that OC San
can assure that water reused, water discharged to the ocean, and biosolids reused for agriculture
are safe and fit for their greater environmental and resource recovery programs.
Current Situation
As of August 2023, OC San is administering 21 DWURD Permits for diversions that are owned and
operated by the City of Huntington Beach, the City of Newport Beach, OC Public Works, Irvine Ranch
Water District, and an LLC responsible for the areas in and around Pelican Point community. Since
the program’s inception in 2000, the Dry Weather Urban Runoff Program has treated over 10 billion
gallons of urban runoff. For the July 2022 through June 2023 reporting period, OC San received
on average 1.55 MGD from these facilities, which is well below the current 10 MGD policy cap and
nine MGD action threshold.
54 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Under special circumstances, OC San may also accept runoff on a limited-term and limited-volume
basis through the SPDP or direct authorization process if there is adequate capacity, the runoff/
wastewater meets applicable effluent discharge standards, there is no practical alternative method of
disposal, and the runoff/wastewater is captured and held until it can be safely discharged to OC San.
In combination, these practices have enabled responsible management of persistent urban runoff
challenges in OC San’s service area and support a thriving and healthy local economy.
Key Issues for the Future
Since the inception of OC San’s DWURD Program, the program success has depended on
collaboration among stakeholders to improve beach water quality and urban runoff diversion water
quality, coordinate flow management, and minimize any potential adverse impact on OC San’s
ocean discharge, biosolids management, and potable reuse.
OC San’s enhanced source control program and vigilant operations provide a solid foundation for
GWRS water’s safety and reliability. Much of the current urban runoff diversion is attributable to
Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach which now provides source water for OCWD. OC San is keenly
aware of the critical role of source water quality and the need for a region-wide commitment to
prevent Constituents of Emerging Concern from entering OC San’s system.
Although OC San will continue to accept controlled discharge from DWURDs in accordance with
Resolution No. 13-09, which supports long-term integrated regional water management, OC San
recognizes that urban runoff is a well-established carrier for surface contaminants. The best
available scientific studies continue to highlight the need for enhanced surveillance and best
management practice for pollution control prior to discharge to OC San consistent with MS4 permit
requirements of diversion owners. For example, a 2020 study by the San Francisco Estuary Institute
showed that runoff into San Francisco contained over 300 times the amount of microplastics when
compared with treated wastewater. A 2021 study that was co-authored by the Southern California
Coastal Research Project showed that tire debris in urban runoff released a rubber preservative
(6-PPD) that is highly toxic to aquatic life in the Pacific Northwest.
As residents within OC San’s service area continue to reduce their indoor water use, there is
increasing interest in utilizing dry weather urban runoff as a new source of water for the GWRS.
Coupled with the completion of GWRS Final Expansion, the need to reassess available sewer
capacity for accepting dry weather urban runoff was recognized by OC San. A feasibility study was
initiated in 2023 by OC San in collaboration with OCWD and Orange County Public Works to identity
opportunities to optimize dry weather urban runoff to sewer to augment local water supply.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal:
• Issue dry weather urban runoff connection permits to accept up to a total of ten million gallons
per day of controlled discharge of dry weather urban runoff where existing conveyance capacity
exists, and the constituents within the flow will not adversely impact OC San.
• Safeguard OC San’s sanitary sewer system against uncontrolled and unregulated discharge
by supporting responsible industry practices for flow management and urban runoff pollutant
reduction at the source. Utilize OC San’s pretreatment expertise to support effective urban runoff
best management practices and special purpose discharge requests among OC San’s regional
stakeholders.
• Support responsible and practicable urban runoff management and reuse legislations and
regulations.
WastewaterManagement
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56 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Chemical Sustainability Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) has a need to use chemicals in its treatment
process to improve plant performance, reduce odor and corrosion potential, and meet its regulatory
requirements. These commodity chemicals are provided by outside vendors through the purchasing
process. Some of these chemicals are subject to price swings due to market condition changes
such as energy cost impacts, raw material cost changes, commercial competition changes, and
transportation cost volatility. OC San will identify chemicals key to its operation, investigate the
market risks for those chemicals and devise strategies to mitigate identified risks to availability and
pricing.
Background
OC San’s treatment plants and collection system use several bulk chemicals. A sustainable supply
of these chemicals is critical to maintaining an acceptable level of treatment and for ensuring
compliance with all regulatory requirements. OC San spends about $24 million annually on the
procurement of eight key chemicals which generally can be broken down into four categories:
coagulants, odor/corrosion control, disinfection, and boiler water treatment. Boiler water treatment
chemicals are low volume and readily available and will not be considered here.
Coagulant Chemicals
Coagulant chemicals include ferric chloride, anionic polymer, and cationic polymer. These
chemicals are the workhorses of the sewage treatment process. Coagulant chemicals work to
clump together organic material so it can more readily be separated from water. Ferric chloride
is the first chemical added in the treatment process. It is a powerful settling agent that causes
organics to clump together and settle to the bottom of primary basins. It is a double-duty chemical
in that it also controls the formation of hydrogen sulfide gas, which is a major odorant, by binding to
suspended sulphur compounds and causing them to settle before they can be converted by natural
bacterial processes to hydrogen sulfide.
Ferric chloride is an iron salt that is produced by reacting iron with hydrochloric acid. It is generally
a byproduct of steel treatment, a leftover pickling agent. Ferric chloride is commonly used in the
water and wastewater industries. Historically, this chemical has been the subject of a limited
supplier base in Southern California. OC San has been actively splitting supply contracts to multiple
vendors to ensure multiple vendors are available. On-site generation of the chemical is impractical
due to the hazardous nature of the manufacturing process and acid handling, the bulk steel
handing logistics, and waste products disposal.
Anionic polymer works with ferric chloride to further aid in the coagulation or settling of organic
compounds in the primary treatment process. These long-chain molecules are designed to be
negatively charged to attract or collect positively charged ferric chloride induced organic clumps or
flocculant. The use of ferric chloride and anionic polymer is called Chemically Enhanced Primary
Treatment or CEPT. OC San has been using CEPT for more than thirty years.
Anionic polymers are specially designed chains with many potential variants and multiple vendors.
Part of the purchasing process for polymers involves polymer trials to document the efficacy of
different products from different vendors to get the best cost-performance balance.
Cationic polymer is generally used to thicken sludge or biosolids in centrifuges or dissolved air
floatation thickeners (DAFT). These long-chained, positively charged molecules are essential to the
proper operation of centrifuges and DAFT units. Part of the purchasing process for these polymers
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 57
also involves polymer trials to document the efficacy of different products from different vendors
to get the best cost-performance balance. It is important to note that it is entirely possible that
four different cationic polymers will be used to optimize the performance of Plant No. 1 dewatering
centrifuges, Plant No. 1 thickening centrifuges, Plant No. 2 dewatering centrifuges, and Plant
No. 2 DAFTs, because the performance can vary greatly depending on the equipment or process.
Each process will have its own polymer trial to determine the cost-performance balance for each
application.
Odor Control Chemicals
OC San uses several chemicals in the collection system and the treatment plant to reduce the
odors normally attributed to sewage and sewage treatment. These chemicals can either prevent the
formation of odor causing compounds, called odorants, or they can destroy odorants that already
exist. Chemicals that prevent the formation of odorants include ferrous chloride, calcium nitrate,
magnesium hydroxide, and caustic.
Chemicals used in the collection systems tend to be more benign than chemicals used in the
treatment plants due to their proximity to the public. Ferrous chloride is closely related to Ferric
chloride as described above. It is a powerful settling agent that prevents the formation of hydrogen
sulfide by tying up and settling sulfide compounds in the collection system. It is a preferred
chemical because of its dual role, but it is not as benign as other choices.
Calcium nitrate is another choice for collection system odor control. It works in a different way.
Calcium nitrate alters the biological equilibrium in sewage. Generally, bacteria that live by
respirating oxygen are the most robust organisms, followed by nitrogen respirating bacteria, and
finally sulfur respirating bacteria. Adding calcium nitrate to sewage creates an environment where
sulfur loving bacteria do not thrive or create hydrogen sulfide.
Magnesium hydroxide is a third choice for collection system odor control. It works primarily by
raising the pH of sewage to a point that is not conducive for odor causing bacteria to thrive.
Magnesium hydroxide is the most benign of the chemical choices as it is the main ingredient in Milk
of Magnesia.
All three of these chemicals are continuously fed into sewer systems at different points to
consistently control the formation of odorants in the system. Where OC San does not have the
ability to site a chemical dosing station and persistent odors are being experienced, there is the
option to utilize caustic slug dosing. Caustic slug dosing involves using tanker trucks to discharge
up to 6,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide into a sewer manhole structure. The very high pH has the
effect of killing the bioslime layer on sewer pipes that creates hydrogen sulfide. This treatment has
an instant benefit that reduces hydrogen sulfide production for days to weeks depending on system
conditions.
The final major odor fighting chemical is bleach. Bleach is used in treatment plant chemical
scrubbers to oxidize odorants in air scrubber units. Bleach is an effective neutralizer of hydrogen
sulfide, methyl mercaptan, methyl disulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and many others.
Disinfection
After a significant amount of work with the regulators, and noticeable degradation of the ocean
environment, OC San successfully discontinued disinfection of its effluent to the long outfall in
2012. This means that thousands of gallons of bleach and sodium bisulfate are no longer required
to be purchased or discharged to the ocean. However, in the event of a discharge to the short
outfall or river overflow, disinfection by bleach will be required. Significant on-site storage of bleach
and dechlorination chemical, sodium bisulfite, is necessary for this emergency contingency. Bleach
58 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
does have a shelf life of about six months. OC San rotates its disinfection supply to its odor control
and plant water treatment systems to prevent product waste.
Process Specific Chemicals
OC San uses pure oxygen to support its activated sludge secondary treatment process for Plant No. 2.
OC San previously self-generated pure oxygen using a cryogenic oxygen plant rated at 70 tons per
day. This plant was removed because it was inefficient at the current average utilization of 35 tons
per day and was at the end of its useful life. OC San contracts for delivery of liquid oxygen and uses
a vaporization system to deliver pure gaseous oxygen to the activated sludge process.
Chemical Supply — Purchase vs. Make
OC San has relied on purchasing bulk commodity chemicals for its treatment plants and collection
system. This has proven to be an effective strategy for operational flexibility and to allow
concentration on core business. Operationally, the types and volume of chemicals change over
time. Over time the types of polymers that are most efficient change. The volume and dosing of
chemicals is based on sewage flow rates, sewage composition, and flow splits between plants.
Managing the generation of specialized chemicals using hazardous materials imposes a significant
training burden on staff, increases the regulatory oversight and requirements, and increases overall
risk to the organization.
OC San maintains a policy to split the volume of orders between two vendors to assure
competition exists in the marketplace for ferric chloride. While OC San generally cooperates with
other public agencies to pool purchasing power to secure the lowest possible cost through high
volume purchasing, some specialty chemicals like ferric chloride require split orders to maintain
competitive market forces.
Current Situation
OC San is constantly changing and improving its facilities to meet new challenges. Each of the
facility changes offer new opportunities to reconsider how OC San operates its processes and how
chemicals are used. The best chemical stability outcome is to cost-effectively eliminate the use of
the chemical. This is the strategy behind cessation of bleach disinfection of the outfall effluent.
Staff is studying the potential to operate the treatment plants differently to minimize or eliminate
use of selected chemicals. Facilities like centrifuge sludge thickening provide new opportunities
to adjust ferric chloride and anionic polymer usage. Opportunities for substitute chemicals will
be explored to understand overall cost and efficiency savings potential. This includes iron vs.
aluminum coagulant studies, anionic polymer trials, cationic polymer trials, and microaeration
of anaerobic digesters to reduce hydrogen sulfide production. Staff also evaluates operating
parameters such as in-basin sludge co-thickening, primary basin sludge blanket level parameters,
as well as the greater loading of the secondary treatment systems.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will thoroughly understand its treatment processes, the potential modes of operation, and
the benefit and cost of chemicals to improve or stabilize its process. OC San will maintain a list of
necessary chemicals for optimal treatment operations which will consider chemical cost, chemical
availability, treatment stability, energy utilization, energy creation, nuisance odor control, biosolids
generation/cost, and regulatory permit compliance risks.
Chemicals that are deemed most beneficial will be procured at the lowest overall cost from market
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 59
providers to the extent possible. Where there are market stability concerns, the purchasing division
will devise procurement strategies to mitigate procurement risks. Where procurement risk cannot
be satisfactorily mitigated, technical staff will evaluate alternatives such as alternate operating
methods, substitute chemical usage, or on-site generation of a chemical if feasible.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Reduce the exclusive reliance on particular chemicals and individual vendors to establish
flexibility to utilize other chemicals/processes to accomplish operational objectives.
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Biosolids Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will remain committed to a sustainable biosolids
program and will continue the beneficial reuse of biosolids in accordance with Resolution No.
OC San 13-03 and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan.
Background
Wastewater solids at both our treatment plants are separated, thickened, digested, and dewatered
before being recycled offsite by contractors for composting and land application. Biogas generated
from the digesters offsets electricity needs, minimizing the need to purchase power from a local utility.
Prior to 2019, OC San produced an average of 800 wet tons per day (~20 percent solids) of Class
B biosolids that were dewatered by belt presses. Following the commissioning of the co-thickening
sludge and dewatering centrifuge system in 2019, OC San has been producing approximately
500-600 wet tons per day (23-28 percent solids), which resulted in an approximately $4 million per
year reduction of biosolids hauling costs.
OC San’s biosolids program is developed in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations,
OC San’s biosolids policy (Board Resolution 13-03), biosolids management system, and the
2017 Biosolids Master Plan (Plan). OC San’s adaptive and highly effective biosolids program
emphasizes diversification of beneficial reuse options and markets for biosolids. Although cost is a
key consideration, the incorporation of failsafe options is considered paramount. These principles
align with the policy and Plan and provide a framework for identifying and adopting reliable and
sustainable biosolids management options while minimizing cost. Moreover, through innovation
and continuous improvements in its biosolids management practice, OC San has been well-
positioned to sustain regulatory compliance and its commitment to beneficially reuse biosolids.
Currently, about 54 percent is used to produce Class A compost in California, and about 46 percent
is used for Class B land application in Arizona.
The Plan forecasted future capital improvement projects needed to sustain responsible and cost-
effective biosolids management over a 20-year planning horizon. As an example, OC San has
initiated a project at Plant No. 2 to construct new thermophilic digesters and batch holding tanks
that will generate Class A biosolids beginning in 2030. These new digesters are needed to increase
operational resiliency against seismic events and biosolids reuse options. Plant No. 1 will continue
to produce Class B biosolids.
According to the Plan, upon commissioning the new thermophilic digesters, future biosolids
management options may include:
• Emerging markets: Management options and technologies that become available following the
adoption of the Plan, such as mine and fire reclamation, gasification, pyrolysis, supercritical water
oxidation, fluidized bed combustion, and cement kiln drying.
• Soil blending: Partner with local soil blenders to deliver and blend Class A biosolids with soil
to produce a high-quality soil amendment that can be used in a larger variety of markets than
current Class A compost such as construction back-fill.
• California land application: While Class A compost and granules are currently land-applied in
California, land application of Class A biosolids is still restricted in most counties. However, with
the recent implementation of California’s organics diversion regulations and planned enforcement
in 2022, stringent local ordinances that unreasonably restrict land application of biosolids are
prohibited.
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• Arizona land application: Land application in Arizona will continue to be a part of OC San’s overall
biosolids program and serves as a large-capacity outlet for biosolids management.
Current Situation
The legislative and regulatory landscapes in California are changing regarding organics
management. Since 2003, direct land application of Class B biosolids in Southern California has
largely been prohibited due to strict ordinances and conditional use requirements that preempted
state recycling laws. However, in recent years there has been a greater focus on healthy soils,
renewable energy, organics diversion from landfills, and reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs),
which are reflected in several bills and initiatives that have been adopted:
• AB 1826 (2014) - Mandatory Organics Recycling for Businesses.
• SB 1383 (2016) - 50% organics diversion from landfill by 2020 and 75% by 2025, which includes
biosolids and mandatory organics procurement (compost and biogas) for impacted jurisdiction.
• SB 32 (2016) - 40% Reduction of GHG below 1990 levels by 2030.
• SB 100 (2018) – 50% renewable resources (i.e., anaerobic co-digestion of food waste) target by
December 31, 2026, and to achieve a 60% target by December 31, 2030.
• Increasing soil carbon and carbon sequestration under the Healthy Soils Initiative and Forest
Carbon Plan.
In combination, these measures are expanding the “organic waste markets”, thereby stimulating
interest in siting more composting facilities and organic waste-to-energy projects. It will also support
soil blending and direct land application of biosolids and create opportunities for wastewater
agencies to innovate. Agencies such as the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),
CalRecycle, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Air Resources Board, and
California Energy Commission are developing regulations to implement the new laws. Throughout
the rulemaking process, OC San has been actively involved through the California Association of
Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and the Clean Water SoCal (formerly Southern California Alliance of
POTWS, SCAP) to encourage regulators to open more biosolids management options in California.
In particular, the recently adopted regulations for SB 1383 require jurisdictions such as cities
and counties to procure recycled organics like compost and biogas for localized beneficial reuse.
In addition, CASA, in coordination with CalRecycle, has met with counties in California to restrict
enforcement of local ordinances on land application of biosolids that are unreasonably restrictive or
prohibitive, thus paving the way for more local biosolids management options.
It is worth noting that, while there is growing interest in California for enhanced organics
management, there has also been a rising concern from the regulatory community regarding
emerging contaminants such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics. These
ubiquitous, often household compounds have been detected in the wastewater pathway and
biosolids, and OC San has been actively monitoring the development of the science and regulations
across all water, wastewater, air, and soil sectors. To date, PFAS regulations have been established
for drinking water and a series of phased investigative orders were issued by the SWRCB to
examine the fate and transport of PFAS. OC San was among 249 wastewater treatment plants
that participated in Phase 3 of the investigative order and is actively participating in collaborative
studies to evaluate the potential impact of PFAS on beneficial reuse of biosolids.
Future Policy Statement
As California’s evolving environmental regulations influence the organic waste markets, OC San will
continue to leverage its memberships with various professional/industry associations to encourage
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local, state, and federal agencies to promote the beneficial reuse of biosolids. OC San will also
continue to monitor the development of regulations for constituents of emerging concern that may
impact the beneficial reuse of biosolids.
OC San’s long-standing leadership role in key professional organizations will continue to ensure
timely and meaningful engagement on key regional, state, and national biosolids management
policies.
OC San will continue to stay abreast of new biosolids management options, technologies, and
regional biosolids recycling and renewable energy partnerships within Southern California,
especially those that address the removal, sequestration, and destruction of constituents of
emerging concern.
Based on the findings from the above mentioned pyrolysis PFAS demonstration project and any
regulations that are developed in the coming years, staff will update OC San’s biosolids strategy to
account for emerging contaminant management.
Consistent with the Plan, staff will work with OC Waste and Recycling (OCWR) to explore regional
biosolids management opportunities as well as local solutions to meet SB 1383’s organics
diversion mandates, with emphasis on in-county biosolids utilization, composting, food waste co-
digestion, and biogas production.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Proceed with implementation of new thermophilic biosolids facilities at Plant No. 2 to improve
OC San’s operational resiliency against seismic events while enhancing biosolids quality and
marketability.
• Engage with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that biosolids will continue to be safely
and legally used as a soil amendment.
• Refresh both short and long-term hauling and management options to ensure reliability and
availability of failsafe options, promote local biosolids management options, and enable
compliance with Advanced Clean Fleets and Greenhouse Gas reduction regulations.
• Stay abreast of new biosolids management options, technologies, and biosolids recycling and
renewable energy partnerships in Southern California, with special emphasis on technologies that
address the removal, sequestration, and destruction of contaminants of emerging concern, such
as Supercritical Water Oxidation.
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Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will partner with other agencies, associations,
and institutions to support the use of sound science to inform policy and regulatory decisions on
constituents (or contaminants) of emerging concern (CECs) at the federal, state, and regional
levels. Staff will obtain and maintain current knowledge on CECs under regulatory consideration,
including occurrence, analytical methods, regulations, and treatment to support OC San’s mission
and regulatory compliance.
Background
CECs are pollutants that are not necessarily subject to existing regulations but have the potential to
pose significant risk to public health and/or the environment. Wastewater treatment systems are
generally not designed to remove or destroy CECs but can serve as a pathway for persistent CECs
such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, commonly known as the “Forever Compound”)
and microplastics that enter the system from sources such as residential dwellings, commercial
establishments, industrial facilities, dry weather urban runoff diversions, and special purpose
discharges. In fact, certain CECs have the potential to compromise wastewater treatment and
reuse operations, if found at levels that impair OC San’s biological treatment systems, digester gas
utilization, or advanced water purification at the Groundwater Replenishment System.
As with most pollutants, reduction of CECs at the source is by far the most effective means of
safeguarding public health and the environment. However, since the full range of adverse effects
associated with each CEC is often unknown until contamination has become wide-spread, OC
San routinely coordinates with environmental regulators, industry partners, and community
stakeholders to maintain up-to-date scientific knowledge, technological developments, and relevant
regulatory and legislative initiatives.
It is worth noting that some of today’s regulated pollutants were once considered CECs, such as
1,4-dioxane and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and OC San is engaged in multiple regional
collaborations to continuously increase our collective understanding of pollutant fate and transport
and develop integrated water quality improvement strategies.
With steadfast support from the OC San Board of Directors, multiple generations of staff have
acquired and conveyed considerable institutional knowledge and experience with identifying,
monitoring, and reducing CECs through a combination of source control, treatment optimization,
analytical innovations, outreach, and responsible reuse and disposal.
A key takeaway from OC San’s decades-long experience with CECs is that there is no such thing
as ‘away’ for some pollutants. Thus, we must consider CEC management in every facet of OC San
operation, with special emphasis on advance planning for source control, beneficial reuse, and
responsible ocean discharge.
Current Situation
OC San has prioritized CEC source control to prevent potential adverse impacts to its mission of
protecting public health and the environment. Industrial and certain non-domestic discharges are
regulated by OC San’s Pre-treatment Program through a permitting and source control inspection
program that enforces OC San’s Waste Discharge Ordinance and federal, state, and local
mandates. For CECs that are undergoing regulatory development, OC San may choose to utilize
interim guidelines and recommended thresholds from federal, state, and local regulatory agencies
to safeguard our ocean discharge and beneficial reuse of water and biosolids.
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Specifically, OC San has worked with regulators at the federal, state, and local levels in advance
of CEC regulations to develop special projects that can be incorporated into its National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit to evaluate the presence and quantity of CECs in
our final discharge to the ocean and the background levels in the receiving environment. OC San’s
current CEC monitoring program includes constituents in the following category: Hormones (8),
Industrial Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (7), Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
(13), and Flame Retardants (9). Data from OC San’s ongoing CEC program were reviewed by the
regulatory and natural resource agencies during the recent NPDES permit renewal consultations,
and additional CECs have been added to the 2021 NPDES permit.
Over time, OC San’s source control program has been enhanced and updated to meet the needs
of the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) as it underwent expansion to increase water
supply reliability for north-central Orange County. Through formal agreements and staff-level
coordination, OC San and the Orange County Water District (OCWD) have forged a world-class
partnership that currently produces up to 130 million gallons per day (MGD) of purified water.
To safeguard this potable reuse effort against CECs and other pollutants that are not removed by
conventional wastewater treatment systems, OC San and OCWD established a response plan that is
activated whenever a pollutant or pollutant precursor becomes a concern to either agency. Where
the source can be identified, the plan organizes responsive actions from OC San and OCWD for
industrial and commercial facilities. A typical response could include source investigation by OC San
that begins with data review, accelerated sampling, laboratory analysis, and result in inspections
and enforcement actions. CECs from suspected domestic and residential sources are typically
addressed by way of educational outreach to the public. However, OC San’s Board of Directors have
also authorized financial and in-kind services to support targeted research at academic institutions
that investigate CECs from domestic and residential origins.
CECs that are not removed through the treatment process can also be found in biosolids. At high
concentrations, CECs may preclude beneficial reuse of biosolids as soil amendments for non-food
crop and force OC San to dispose of biosolids in landfills or pursue costly means of destruction.
Thus, responsible legislations and regulations that reduce the production and use of CECs,
encourage substitution with less toxic materials, and promote adaptive source control programs are
essential for sustaining OC San’s mission and commitments to the community.
If source control, education and outreach, or legislative and regulatory efforts are not successful,
OC San may be required to implement a technological or operational process change/investment to
address a CEC.
Future Policy Statement
OC San shall align its resources to manage CECs throughout its service area and treatment process
to comply with existing and anticipated regulatory requirements and sustain beneficial reuse of
treated effluent and biosolids.
OC San shall acquire and maintain a high level of subject matter expertise and engagement across
the wastewater, water, water reuse, air quality, ocean monitoring, and biosolids sectors to monitor
the environmental, operational, and financial threats posed by CECs.
OC San shall continue to work with other agencies and professional organizations to develop robust
analytical methods and routinely monitor its local limits to shape and comply with regulation to
protect public health and the environment.
OC San shall continue to implement and update the GWRS Response Plan to sustain effective
water reuse and prepare for next-generation CECs and emerging regulatory obligations.
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Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• OC San will continue to actively engage water and wastewater stakeholders to stay abreast of the
scientific progress and any potential operational and financial impacts of CECs and provide timely
briefings to OC San’s Executive Management Team and Board of Directors to facilitate informed
decision making.
• OC San will continue to develop capacity to identify, detect, quantify, and characterize CEC
sources throughout the service area and treatment process to promote source reduction,
treatment effectiveness, communication of credible risks, and responsible reuse and disposal.
• OC San will proactively establish internal expertise and develop laboratory capability to research
the potential impact of CECs on beneficial reuse of water and biosolids. OC San will use science-
based knowledge to help shape CEC legislation and regulations to protect the public health and
environment.
• In the absence of promulgated regulatory limits for specific CECs, OC San will work with regulatory
agencies to establish interim source control measures to safeguard its water and biosolids reuse
initiatives and ocean discharge against potential adverse impacts.
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Workforce Environment
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Resilient Staffing Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) has comprehensive programs in place to attract,
develop, and retain high-quality talent to support its mission of protecting public health and the
environment. Some of these programs include training and development, employee recognition,
diversity and inclusion, recruitment and selection, and competitive benefits and compensation, which
help promote employee engagement and productivity and make OC San an employer of choice.
Background
At OC San, employees are the organization’s most valuable resource. OC San employs over
600 highly skilled and dedicated individuals committed to providing outstanding service to the
community, and whose collective efforts make OC San an industry leader. OC San invests in its
employees by providing targeted educational and training opportunities, resulting in a highly skilled
and educated workforce tasked with carrying out our mission.
OC San has a diverse workforce and a wide range of expertise with approximately 70 percent of
positions requiring a degree, certification, and/or license. Occupations include scientists, engineers,
environmental and regulatory specialists, operators, mechanics, construction inspectors, as well as
professionals in public affairs, finance, contracts, IT, safety, and human resources.
Effective strategic workforce planning allows management to project the loss of institutional
knowledge and experience caused by employee turnover. OC San utilizes a variety of methods to
ensure we have access to internal talent pools through effective performance management, talent
assessments and training, development plans, and external talent pools by actively sourcing for
passive candidates and leveraging social media outlets and career fairs.
OC San has a competitive recruitment process that prioritizes hiring the best candidate for any
given position based on qualifications and merit. Human Resources utilizes an objective multi-
hurdle recruitment and selection process which includes assessment centers and skills testing,
screening for minimum qualifications, secondary screening of applications by the hiring manager,
panel interviews (for technical skills and fit), and a full background investigation and reference
check of the selected candidate.
OC San utilizes several strategies to attract, retain, and develop highly skilled staff for key
positions. These include fostering a strong values-based culture, being intentional with our hiring
practices, promoting employees’ growth and development, supporting a healthy work/life balance,
rewarding and recognizing exemplary achievements, and maintaining a competitive benefits and
compensation philosophy, in addition to the following:
• Equal Opportunity Employer
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, OC San advertises vacant positions to all segments of the
public providing a fair opportunity to all. Jobs are generally advertised on the Internet, e-mailed
to employees, and posted on social media and other internet sites, and in trade magazines
or on trade-specific websites for hard-to-fill, specialized, or technical positions. Recruiters also
utilize LinkedIn and other platforms to reach active and passive candidates in the market.
• Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
Vocational students from the Water Utility Science Program at Santiago Canyon College and Los
Angeles Trade Technical College work 28 hours a week and rotate through five technical trades
for 52 weeks in our Operations and Maintenance Department. OC San has experienced success
through the program with 23 of the participants hiring on full-time since the program’s inception.
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OC San also offers a Professional Student Internship Program that allows students at local
Universities an opportunity to work within the professional ranks while attending college full-
time for a one-year maximum duration. OC San partners with Cal State Fullerton, Cal State
Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, Chapman University, and UC Irvine, among others in Southern
California.
• Employee Training and Development Program
In addition to providing all legally mandated training, OC San provides training and development
opportunities to increase job knowledge and maximize skill sets in employees’ current positions,
and to prepare them for future opportunities.
Comprehensive training programs include legally mandated training, and technical training
through industry-specific associations or groups, local schools, and professional associations,
including informal on the job training. Employee development is profiled and tracked to ensure
compliance with legally mandated training as well as requirements for licenses and certifications.
Staff obtains targeted job-related training necessary to keep OC San current with industry best
practices and developments in their respective fields of expertise and are eligible to receive
Development Pay for job-related licenses and certifications. OC San also promotes professional
development through its tuition and certification reimbursement programs for courses completed
toward obtaining an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree at accredited colleges,
universities, or other institutions or industry-specific certifications.
• Orange County Sanitation District University (OC San “U”)
OC San has a comprehensive employee development program called OC San “U” that offers
learning opportunities that increase knowledge, skills, abilities, and enhance organizational
awareness. The elective training courses are focused on leadership, technology, communication,
OC San business systems, and partnerships for the future. The program is designed to address
knowledge transfer as attrition occurs and to develop employees from within the organization for
succession management and business continuity. Human Resources oversees the program with
volunteers from across the organization serving as program ambassadors. Under this program,
employees may also apply to participate in the Cal State Fullerton 14-week Leadership Academy
for Public Agencies.
• Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
OC San management conducts a systematic assessment of its workforce to forecast staffing
requirements and identify key and vulnerable positions based on three criteria: criticality,
retention, and difficulty to fill. Human Resources facilitates annual workforce vulnerability
assessments and works closely with departments to identify potential gaps and develop action
plans to respond to future staffing needs.
• Talent Readiness Assessments
OC San evaluates staff readiness for key positions on a regular basis and focuses its employee
development efforts based on identified gaps. Key positions and feeder roles are also identified
along with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform these jobs to create Individual
Development Plans (IDP) for employees to prepare to compete for future job opportunities and
ensure seamless movement of talent within the organization.
Additionally, there are employees who are active members of various professional associations,
serve on a Board, or volunteer in various capacities within the wastewater industry. OC San is
regularly invited to present and teach others about resource recovery and succession management
efforts. Recruiters attend job fairs, and work closely with universities, professional organizations,
and serve on advisory committees for career planning, bringing awareness to the organization and
reinforcing OC San’s image as an industry leader.
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To remain competitive in the labor market and ensure retention of top talent, OC San conducts
Classification & Compensation studies to ensure job classifications accurately reflect the work
being performed, set compensation levels accordingly, and stay abreast of market benefit and
salary data. The process includes feedback from multiple stakeholders including employees,
management, bargaining groups, legal counsel, and Human Resources.
Current Situation
Currently, 42 percent of OC San’s executives and managers are eligible for retirement. In the next
five years, the number of eligible management increases to 68 percent. For trades and professional
occupations, 26 percent are currently eligible to retire, and that increases to 44 percent by 2028.
OC San has many long-term employees with vast knowledge in their respective areas of expertise.
The average years of service is nine years with some employees having been a part of the OC San
family for over 35 years. Looking at OC San’s total attrition over the last five years, we have lost
4,780 years of knowledge and experience by 292 individuals leaving the agency since July 2018.
In 2010, OC San proactively implemented a second retirement benefit formula (“classic open plan”)
ahead of the Public Employee Pension Reform Act, which offered candidates moving from other
public sector agencies to OC San a retirement benefit of 2.43 percent at 65, with zero employer
paid member contribution. Based on OC San’s classic open retirement plan, competing for
experienced and highly skilled talent from surrounding municipalities, who offer a more attractive
retirement benefit of 2.5 percent or 2.7 percent at 55 in addition to paying for a portion of the
employees’ contribution, has been challenging. In the last five years, approximately 35 percent of
new hires come from other public sector agencies which limits our ability to hire already trained
and experienced staff which can be particularly difficult for technical, scientific, and management
positions.
OC San has had recent experience in competing with the private sector labor market, as well as
with public sector candidates withdrawing from the process or declining job offers once they learn
of the impact to their retirement benefit formula. Given the legal restrictions which bind OC San to
the classic open retirement formula, it is critical that OC San focus its efforts on retaining current
staff, attracting qualified and experienced candidates, and investing in developing and growing
employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities for the future, to address any potential talent shortages.
Future Policy Statement
OC San will continue to implement strategic workforce planning processes to ensure workforce
capabilities match the work required to meet OC San’s current and future needs. OC San will
continue to proactively monitor the changing work environment, labor market, and legal landscape
to ensure human resources programs are compliant, relevant, competitive, and help facilitate the
behaviors, culture and competencies needed to achieve organizational goals.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• OC San’s employee training programs and activities will be transitioned from individual
departments and centralized in Human Resources department over a two-year period. The
centralized approach will streamline processes, ensure legal compliance, and provide greater
consistency, transparency, and access for all employees, while also being responsive to the needs
of the organization.
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• Maintain and enhance workforce planning initiatives to efficiently and effectively identify, develop,
and select the next generation of prepared, capable, and engaged employees through:
o Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
o Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
o Talent Readiness Assessments
o Orange County Sanitation District University (OC San “U”)
• Continue to build the OC San “U” program and evaluate various options to partner with member
agencies to share content and interactive development opportunities.
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Safety and Physical Security
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will ensure the safety, health, and security of
employees, contractors, and the public through industry best practices, policies, and procedures
that support a safe and secure environment, provide an appropriate level of security, and safeguard
OC San’s property and physical assets.
Background
Safety and Health
In California, employers must furnish employees with a place of employment free from known
or recognized hazards that cause serious physical harm or death, that is compliant with all legal
requirements, and aligns with industry best practices. OC San is committed to identifying all hazards
through regular inspection, with the goal of eliminating the hazard or providing an acceptable
engineering control, implementing administrative controls such as safe work procedures and
training, as well as provision of personal protective equipment. Our safety programs have proven
effective in ensuring the safety of OC San’s workforce, contractors, and members of the public.
Emergency Management
OC San must be prepared to control risks to the organization, and routinely recognize, evaluate,
and prepare for emergencies. An emergency can include an explosion, fire, verified bomb threat,
civil disorder, active shooter, or uncontrolled hazardous materials release which interrupts OC San’s
ability to provide safe and environmentally responsible wastewater treatment. OC San’s protocol to
control and respond to emergencies is contained within the Integrated Emergency Response Plan
(IERP).
The IERP identifies and assesses hazards regarding emergency events which OC San may be
confronted with. It contains policies, plans, and procedures for preparing and responding to
emergencies. When OC San cannot effectively respond to an emergency under routine operations,
the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated. OC San’s EOC adheres to the National Incident
Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) framework, which is a standardized
approach to command, control, and coordinate emergency response for incidents of any size. Once
the immediate emergency has been controlled, then OC San must resume normal operations. In
the event of a prolonged emergency state, the return to normal operations is guided by OC San’s
Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). In May 2018, a COOP was completed with all divisions
contributing to its development. The IERP and COOP programs are updated annually at a minimum,
or more frequently, based on emergency response exercises, or due to changes in plant processes
or personnel.
OC San collaborates, and has mutual aid agreements in place, with other Orange County agencies
to ensure available resources are identified and engaged in the event of an emergency. OC San is
a member and funding agency of the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County
(WEROC), which is administered by the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC).
WEROC supports and manages countywide emergency preparedness, planning, response, and
recovery efforts among Orange County water and wastewater utilities.
Physical Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated 16 critical infrastructure sectors,
which includes water and wastewater systems. Wastewater systems are vulnerable to a variety
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of attacks, including acts of terrorism, contamination with deadly agents, physical attacks, and
cyberattacks. In addition, DHS indicates that the average time it takes for a critical incident to take
place is up to 12 minutes while the average police response time can be up to 11 minutes, and
that time could increase should there be a natural disaster.
Additional security concerns include physical violence, vandalism, theft, and trespassers. With a
footprint of approximately 100 acres at each plant, and over 600 employees, contractors, and
members of the public onsite for tours and meetings, it is essential to maintain a security presence
that can respond to security threats promptly.
OC San contracts with a security firm that includes armed guards to provide round the clock security
monitoring of plant access, doors, cameras, and patrolling the perimeter at both plants.
Current Situation
Risk Management identifies potential risks to the organization and provides solutions for mitigation
or reduction of the risk to acceptable levels. Through this process, the Risk Management Division
will create a safe, healthy, and secure environment for OC San employees, contractors, and
members of the public. Risk Management partners with management and employees to take
ownership of identifying risks and mitigating risks within their sphere of control. Risk Management,
managers, and staff collaborate to develop written procedures (e.g., policies) that are used for
eliminating and controlling hazards at OC San; thus, ensuring compliance with occupational health
and safety standards and laws.
Safety
OC San strives to achieve safety excellence and continually advance our safety and health
culture and associated programs. This is exemplified by our pursuit of the California Voluntary
Protection Program (Cal/VPP) designation, which is recognized as a higher level of protection for
the workplace. The Cal/VPP is a program created by Cal/OSHA to recognize organizations that
have implemented safety and health programs that effectively prevent and control occupational
hazards. A Cal/VPP workplace is expected to continually improve its safety program, which means
a safe workplace for all. A reduction in injuries and illness has been documented at sites that have
committed to the VPP approach.
In June of 2020, OC San submitted its application to Cal/OSHA for the Cal/VPP program. In October
of 2020, the Cal/VPP Manager confirmed through a preliminary site inspection that OC San’s
Plant No. 1 was eligible, and a subsequent program audit was delayed because of the COVID-19
pandemic. On May 22, 2023, Cal/OSHA completed a weeklong audit of Plant No. 1’s safety and
health management system, which included physical walkthroughs, employee interviews, as well as
a review of our safety programs and procedures. OC San anticipates a decision regarding its Cal/
VPP application in the last quarter of 2023.
OC San updated its Safety Incentive Program in December 2022 to a user friendly, virtual point-
based platform that makes recognition more transparent, flexible, and meaningful to employees.
OC San’s Safety Incentive Program recognizes and rewards employees for their improvement of
safe work practices, resolving unsafe working conditions, and achieving safety excellence in job
performance. The new program provides a broader selection of awards, ranging from OC San
apparel to an assortment of sanctioned products.
OC San continues to conduct third party annual comprehensive surveys. The goal of the surveys is to
identify regulatory gaps in safety, health, industrial hygiene, and emergency management. Opportunities
for improvement that are identified as part of the survey process are tracked to completion.
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Emergency Management
OC San partners with local agencies to ensure available resources are identified and engaged in the
event of an emergency.
In 2023, OC San conducted plant-wide building evacuations and a multi-agency tabletop exercise
that included a shelter-in-place drill. These simulation exercises are an instrument to train
for, assess, and evaluate OC San’s emergency response performance and test our employee
notification capabilities.
Security
The designation of wastewater systems as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland
Security requires OC San to be diligent in protecting people and property from security breaches.
OC San seeks to continually improve the security program.
On May 11, 2023, OC San partnered with the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
to complete a Cyber Tabletop Exercise to examine OC San’s ability to identify, protect against,
detect, and respond to a significant cyber incident affecting plant processes. The exercise examined
internal and external information sharing, notifications, incident response, analysis of procedures,
roles and responsibilities, and the ability of plant operations to operate equipment without use of
computer systems.
OC San will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in late 2023 for Security Services, which will include
the expansion of security services for OC San’s new Headquarters Complex. As part of the RFP
evaluation, OC San will review procedural and technical enhancements and innovations that may
improve the existing program.
OC San’s Security Committee, which includes stakeholders from a cross-section of the organization,
continues to meet quarterly to collect input and assess physical and cyber security concerns and
suggestions. Responsibilities of the committee include, but are not limited to, reviewing security
orders and policies, reviewing security incident reports, and planning drills.
Future Policy Statement
Risk Management will continue to implement strategic initiatives that will ensure the safety,
health, and security of its workforce, and proactively plan for emergencies to ensure continuity
of operations. Staff is dedicated to proactively monitoring the changing work environment and
requirements to implement programs now that address future vulnerabilities. Assessments of
changes in business needs, plant processes, and legal requirements are necessary to ensure a
safe and secure work environment. The results of improvement will be measured using leading
metric indicators and reported to the workforce to foster employee engagement.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
Safety
• Identify regulatory gaps and opportunities to continually improve OC San’s safety and health
management system to participate in the Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
• Continue to foster a culture where employees are accountable for their safety, as well as the
safety of others.
76 | STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023
Emergency Management
• Support facility and countywide emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts
by partnering with entities, such as, the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange
County (WEROC), Orange County Sherriff Department, and local fire departments to plan and
conduct disaster preparedness exercises and drills.
• Train new employees or retrain existing employees who staff OC San’s Emergency Operation
Center (EOC) on the Incident Command System (ICS) and emergency disaster forms.
Security
• Identify and assess security vulnerabilities and improve physical security systems such as
CCTV monitoring, access control systems, physical key management systems, and physical
patrols of occupied buildings and plant facilities.
STRATEGIC PLAN — 2023 | 77
Reclamation Plant No. 1
(Administration Offices)
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, California 92708
714.962.2411
Treatment Plant No. 2
22212 Brookhurst Street
Huntington Beach, California 92646
For more information
Email: ForInformation@ocsan.gov
Phone: 714.962.2411
www.ocsan.gov
10/2023
3/12/2025
1
Strategic Plan Workshop #1
March 19, 2025
Strategic Plan – Workshop #1
Rob Thompson
General Manager
2
The Board of DirectorsDefine OC San’s Services
•Major initiatives require many years of consistent effort to deliver.
•Focuses staff and resources on true, long-term priorities.
•Improves the ability to collaborate with other agencies.
Builds Unity
•Staff and agencies clearly understand the OC San Board of Directors' expectations.
•Staff processes align with the Board of Directors' direction.
•The General Manager's Workplan holds staff accountable.
•Defines what OC San does and does not do.
Importance of Strategic Planning
1
2
3/12/2025
2
3
Strategic Planning Process
3
Strategic Plan 2023
GM Work Plan
FY 24/25
GM Work Plan
FY 25/26
Asset Mgmt.
Plan 2023
Asset Mgmt.
Plan 2024Budget
Update
Fiscal Year
24/25 & 25/26
Budget
Strategic Plan 2025
GM Work Plan
FY 26/27
GM Work Plan
FY 27/28
Asset Mgmt.
Plan 2025
Asset Mgmt.
Plan 2026Budget
Update
Fiscal Year
26/27 & 27/28
Budget
Current Planning Cycle Next Planning Cycle
4
The Process
3
4
3/12/2025
3
5
Timeline
March 19
Strategic Plan
Workshop #1
April 16
Strategic Plan
Workshop #2
April 30
EMT Planning Session
June 25Proposed GM Work Plan
July 23GM Work Plan Adoption
July/August
Strategic Plan Development
September 24
Draft Strategic Plan Presented to the Board
November 19
Final Strategic Plan Presented to the Board
6
OC San’s Policy Areas
Business Principles
•Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
•Asset Management
•Cybersecurity
•Property Management
•Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
Environmental Stewardship
•Energy Independence
•Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience
•Food Waste Treatment
•Water Reuse
•Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater
Management and Urban Runoff
Wastewater Management
•Chemical Sustainability
•Biosolids Management
•Constituents of Emerging Concern
Workplace Environment
•Resilient Staffing
•Safety and Physical Security
5
6
3/12/2025
4
7
•Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
•Cybersecurity
•Property Management
•Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
•Resilient Staffing
•Safety and Physical Security
•Asset Management
•Chemical Sustainability
Policy Topics - Workshop #1
8
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
Strat. Plan Pg. 24Policy Statement:
OC San has practices and safeguards in place to ensure
its long-term fiscal stability. These provide direction so
that OC San’s finances are managed in a manner that
will continue to support the daily collection and
treatment of wastewater; meet the mission of the
organization; maintain our AAA Bond Rating; ensure a
responsible budget, consisting of Revenues, Operating
Expenditures, Capital Improvement Program (CIP), Debt
Service; and establish reserves necessary to meet
known and unknown future obligations. OC San has
established Fiscal Policies and Reserve Criteria, which
are included in the budget, and separately adopted
Investment and Debt Policies.
7
8
3/12/2025
5
9
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
Strat. Plan Pg. 24
IniƟaƟves
•Use established resources, along with developing and implementing additional resources to assist
OC San staff in tracking and monitoring expenditures to ensure smooth business operations while
maintaining budgetary control.
•Maintain a fiscally responsible financial plan that is based on long-term planning which supports
stable rate setting and a pay-as-you-go philosophy for operaƟng and capital expenditures.
•Leverage the centralized training program to provide targeted training opportunities for employees
to remain current with financial best pracƟces and OC San fiscal policies and procedures.
•Monitor the long-term debt program and continually assess market conditions to identify possible
opportunities to reduce outstanding debt balance and term, while maintaining a AAA rating.
•Maintain reserve levels within policy guidelines, while optimizing the use of available funds to
finance capital programs and ensure a balanced budget.
10
Cybersecurity
Policy Statement:
OC San must maintain adequate cybersecurity (information technology security) techniques
that protect computer assets, networks, programs, data, and industrial control equipment from
unauthorized access, denial of service, or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.
Strat. Plan Pg. 32
9
10
3/12/2025
6
11
Cybersecurity
IniƟaƟves
•Conduct various tabletop exercises to determine the organization’s ability to respond to a
targeted cyberattack and to improve the quality of the response, should an attack occur.
•Evaluate, enhance, and monitor network security including activities to protect the usability,
reliability, integrity, and safety of the network by developing Security Operations Center
capabilities that support continuous monitoring and is responsible for the continuous threat
protection process.
•Conduct a comprehensive third-party cybersecurity operations assessment (Red Team). A
thorough Red Team engagement will expose vulnerabilities and risks regarding:
o Technology — Networks, applications, routers, switches, appliances, etc.
o People — Staff, independent contractors, departments, business partners, etc.
o Physical — Offices, warehouses, substations, data centers, buildings, etc.
Strat. Plan Pg. 32
12
Property Management
Policy Statement:
OC San owns and operates assets throughout its
service area located in property owned in fee,
through easements, and in the public right-of-
way. OC San will identify and protect all of its
property rights to ensure its assets are not
encumbered or encroached upon so that the
facilities may be properly operated, maintained,
upgraded, and replaced.
Strat. Plan Pg. 34
Bay Bridge Pump Station
11
12
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7
13
Property Management
IniƟaƟves
•Leverage technology to review property rights and identify encroachments or encumbrances
that restrict operation, maintenance, inspection, or emergency repair access to remove
encroachments or encumbrances.
•Collaborate with Engineering to obtain property, easements, and right-of-way in a timely
manner for capital projects.
•Augment OC San resources with contracted specialized real estate services to limit the need
for additional staffing.
Strat. Plan Pg. 34
14
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
Policy Statement:
OC San will create and disseminate information to our
stakeholders with an end goal to educate, inform, and
garner support for services provided, thus allowing us to
operate in a more efficient and effective manner. OC San
will deliver messages that are accurate, transparent, and
designed to foster public trust and confidence.
Additionally, following legislative activity will ensure OC
San’s interests are explained and considered.
Strat. Plan Pg. 35
13
14
3/12/2025
8
15
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach
IniƟaƟves
•Develop an educational display in the
Headquarters building to illustrate OC San’s
reuse and recycling efforts in support of the
environment and public health. Display to be
revealed when new building is unveiled. Phase
2 of the hands-on educational display will
consist of content on the exterior of the
building to create a complete experience from
walking up to OC San to entering the building.
•Implement a multipronged outreach strategy
that will include industry and media coverage
for the Supercritical Water Oxidation project.
Strat. Plan Pg. 35
16
Organizational Advocacy and Outreach Cont.
IniƟaƟves
•Develop and implement a Local Government Affairs Outreach Program to
enhance OC San business goals and build local relationships that benefit OC
San, cities we serve, member agencies, and officials.
•Engage a local lobbyist to assist in advancing strategic initiatives as identified
within the Strategic Plan.
•Actively monitor and engage in regulatory and legislative activity across
California and Washington, D.C., and take appropriate action in support of, or
opposition to, legislative and regulatory initiatives affecting OC San and the
wastewater industry. This includes using Monitoring and Analysis, Advocacy
Days, Position letters and Funding Requests (as deemed suitable).
Strat. Plan Pg. 35
15
16
3/12/2025
9
17
Resilient Staffing
Policy Statement:
OC San has comprehensive programs in
place to attract, develop, and retain high-
quality talent to support its mission of
protecting public health and the
environment. Some of these programs
include training and development,
employee recognition, diversity and
inclusion, recruitment and selection, and
competitive benefits and compensation,
which help promote employee
engagement and productivity and make
OC San an employer of choice.
Strat. Plan Pg. 68
18
Resilient Staffing
IniƟaƟves
•OC San’s employee training programs and activities will be transitioned from individual departments and
centralized in Human Resources department over a two-year period. The centralized approach will
streamline processes, ensure legal compliance, and provide greater consistency, transparency, and access
for all employees, while also being responsive to the needs of the organization.
•Maintain and enhance workforce planning initiatives to efficiently and effectively identify, develop, and
select the next generation of prepared, capable, and engaged employees through:
o Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
o Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
o Talent Readiness Assessments
o Orange County Sanitation District University (OC San “U”)
•Continue to build the OC San “U” program and evaluate various options to partner with member
agencies to share content and interactive development opportunities.
Strat. Plan Pg. 68
17
18
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10
19
Safety and Physical Security
Strat. Plan Pg. 73Policy Statement:
OC San will ensure the safety, health, and security of employees, contractors, and the public through
industry best practices, policies, and procedures that support a safe and secure environment, provide
an appropriate level of security, and safeguard OC San’s property and physical assets.
20
Safety and Physical Security
Strat. Plan Pg. 73Initiatives
•Safety
o Identify regulatory gaps and opportunities to continually improve OC San’s safety and health
management system to participate in the Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
o Continue to foster a culture where employees are accountable for their safety, as well as the
safety of others
•Emergency Management
o Support facility and countywide emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by
partnering with entities, such as, the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County
(WEROC), Orange County Sherriff Department, and local fire departments to plan and conduct
disaster preparedness exercises and drills.
o Train new employees or retrain existing employees who staff OC San’s Emergency Operation
Center (EOC) on the Incident Command System (ICS) and emergency disaster forms.
•Security
o Identify and assess security vulnerabilities and improve physical security systems such as CCTV
monitoring, access control systems, physical key management systems, and physical patrols of
occupied buildings and plant facilities.
19
20
3/12/2025
11
21
Asset Management
Policy Statement:
OC San will assess and manage the collection and
treatment plant systems and assets to improve resilience
and reliability while lowering lifecycle costs. This will be
accomplished through adaptive operation, coordinated
maintenance and condition assessment, and planned
capital investment. Staff will balance maintenance,
refurbishment, and replacement strategies to maximize
useful life, system availability, and efficiency.
Strat. Plan Pg. 29
22
Asset Management
Initiatives
•Continue developing an annual Asset Management Plan documenting the condition of the collection
system and treatment plants, and upcoming maintenance or capital projects.
•Coordinate the efforts of operations, collections, mechanical maintenance, electrical maintenance,
instrument maintenance and engineering through process teams to assure OC San’s resources are
focused on the high priority work functions.
•Identify critical collections and plant assets that have long lead times for parts and replacement and
mitigate procurement risks and impacts to collections and plant resiliency based on market
conditions.
•Maintain a 20-year forecast of all CIP projects needed to maintain or upgrade OC San’s $12.6 billion
in assets on a prioritized risk basis to establish rate structures.
Strat. Plan Pg. 29
21
22
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12
23
Chemical Sustainability
Policy Statement:
OC San has a need to use chemicals in its
treatment process to improve plant performance,
reduce odor and corrosion potential, and meet its
regulatory requirements. These commodity
chemicals are provided by outside vendors
through the purchasing process. Some of these
chemicals are subject to price swings due to
market condition changes such as energy cost
impacts, raw material cost changes, commercial
competition changes, and transportation cost
volatility. OC San will identify chemicals key to its
operation, investigate the market risks for those
chemicals and devise strategies to mitigate
identified risks to availability and pricing.
Strat. Plan Pg. 56
24
Chemical Sustainability
Initiatives
Reduce the exclusive reliance on particular chemicals and individual vendors to establish flexibility to
utilize other chemicals/processes to accomplish operational objectives.
Strat. Plan Pg. 56
23
24
3/12/2025
13
25
•Water Reuse
•Energy Independence
•Climate and Catastrophic Event Resiliency
•Food Waste Treatment
•Biosolids Management
•Constituents of Emerging Concern
•Environmental Water Quality, and Urban Runoff
Policy Topics - Workshop #2
26
Committee Meetings
May •Levels of Service
June •Core Values
July •Risk Register
25
26
3/12/2025
14
Questions?
27
27
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
COMMON ACRONYMS
ACWA Association of California
Water Agencies LOS Level Of Service RFP Request For Proposal
APWA American Public Works
Association MGD Million Gallons Per Day RWQCB Regional Water Quality
Control Board
AQMD Air Quality Management
District MOU Memorandum of
Understanding SARFPA Santa Ana River Flood
Protection Agency
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers NACWA National Association of Clean Water Agencies SARI Santa Ana River Interceptor
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand NEPA National Environmental Policy
Act SARWQCB Santa Ana Regional Water
Quality Control Board
CARB California Air Resources
Board NGOs Non-Governmental
Organizations SAWPA Santa Ana Watershed
Project Authority
CASA California Association of
Sanitation Agencies NPDES National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System SCADA Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition
CCTV Closed Circuit Television NWRI National Water Research
Institute SCAP
Southern California
Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works
CEQA California Environmental
Quality Act O & M Operations & Maintenance SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality
Management District
CIP Capital Improvement
Program OCCOG Orange County Council of
Governments SOCWA South Orange County
Wastewater Authority
CRWQCB California Regional Water
Quality Control Board OCHCA Orange County Health Care
Agency SRF Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
CWA Clean Water Act OCSD Orange County Sanitation District SSMP Sewer System Management Plan
CWEA California Water Environment Association OCWD Orange County Water District SSO Sanitary Sewer Overflow
EIR Environmental Impact Report OOBS Ocean Outfall Booster Station SWRCB State Water Resources
Control Board
EMT Executive Management Team OSHA Occupational Safety and
Health Administration TDS Total Dissolved Solids
EPA US Environmental Protection Agency PCSA
Professional
Consultant/Construction
Services Agreement
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
FOG Fats, Oils, and Grease PDSA Professional Design Services
Agreement TSS Total Suspended Solids
gpd gallons per day PFAS
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances WDR Waste Discharge
Requirements
GWRS Groundwater Replenishment
System PFOA Perfluorooctanoic Acid WEF Water Environment
Federation
ICS Incident Command System PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid WERF Water Environment & Reuse Foundation
IERP Integrated Emergency
Response Plan POTW Publicly Owned Treatment
Works WIFIA Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act
JPA Joint Powers Authority ppm parts per million WIIN Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act
LAFCO Local Agency Formation
Commission PSA Professional Services
Agreement WRDA Water Resources
Development Act
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS – A secondary biological wastewater treatment process where bacteria reproduce at a high rate with the introduction of excess air or oxygen and consume dissolved nutrients in the wastewater.
BENTHOS – The community of organisms, such as sea stars, worms, and shrimp, which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) – The amount of oxygen used when organic matter undergoes decomposition by microorganisms. Testing for BOD is done to assess the amount of organic matter in water.
BIOGAS – A gas that is produced by the action of anaerobic bacteria on organic waste matter in a digester tank that can be used
as a fuel.
BIOSOLIDS – Biosolids are nutrient rich organic and highly treated solid materials produced by the wastewater treatment process. This high-quality product can be recycled as a soil amendment on farmland or further processed as an earth-like product for
commercial and home gardens to improve and maintain fertile soil and stimulate plant growth.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) – Projects for repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of assets. Also includes treatment improvements, additional capacity, and projects for the support facilities.
COLIFORM BACTERIA – A group of bacteria found in the intestines of humans and other animals, but also occasionally found elsewhere, used as indicators of sewage pollution. E. coli are the most common bacteria in wastewater.
COLLECTIONS SYSTEM – In wastewater, it is the system of typically underground pipes that receive and convey sanitary wastewater or storm water.
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION (COP) – A type of financing where an investor purchases a share of the lease revenues of a program rather than the bond being secured by those revenues.
CONTAMINANTS OF POTENTIAL CONCERN (CPC) – Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants.
DILUTION TO THRESHOLD (D/T) – The dilution at which the majority of people detect the odor becomes the D/T for that air sample.
GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG) – In the order of relative abundance water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone gases that are considered the cause of global warming (“greenhouse effect”).
GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM (GWRS) – A joint water reclamation project that proactively responds to Southern California’s current and future water needs. This joint project between the Orange County Water District and OCSD provides 70
million gallons per day of drinking quality water to replenish the local groundwater supply.
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) – Goals to support environmental and public expectations for performance.
N-NITROSODIMETHYLAMINE (NDMA) – A N-nitrosamine suspected cancer-causing agent. It has been found in the GWRS
process and is eliminated using hydrogen peroxide with extra ultra-violet treatment.
NATIONAL BIOSOLIDS PARTNERSHIP (NBP) – An alliance of the NACWA and WEF, with advisory support from the EPA. NBP is committed to developing and advancing environmentally sound and sustainable biosolids management practices that go beyond regulatory compliance and promote public participation to enhance the credibility of local agency biosolids programs and improved communications that lead to public acceptance.
PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) – A large group (over 6,000) of human-made compounds that are resistant to heat, water, and oil and used for a variety of applications including firefighting foam, stain and water-resistant clothing, cosmetics, and food packaging. Two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been the focus of increasing regulatory scrutiny in drinking water and may result in adverse health effects including developmental effects to fetuses during pregnancy, cancer, liver damage, immunosuppression, thyroid effects, and other effects.
PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) – An ingredient for several industrial applications including carpeting, upholstery, apparel, floor wax, textiles, sealants, food packaging, and cookware (Teflon).
PERFLUOROOCTANESULFONIC ACID (PFOS) – A key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and used in numerous stain repellents.
PLUME – A visible or measurable concentration of discharge from a stationary source or fixed facility.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) – A municipal wastewater treatment plant.
SANTA ANA RIVER INTERCEPTOR (SARI) LINE – A regional brine line designed to convey 30 million gallons per day of non-reclaimable wastewater from the upper Santa Ana River basin to the ocean for disposal, after treatment.
SANITARY SEWER – Separate sewer systems specifically for the carrying of domestic and industrial wastewater.
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SCAQMD) – Regional regulatory agency that develops plans and
regulations designed to achieve public health standards by reducing emissions from business and industry.
SECONDARY TREATMENT – Biological wastewater treatment, particularly the activated sludge process, where bacteria and other microorganisms consume dissolved nutrients in wastewater.
SLUDGE – Untreated solid material created by the treatment of wastewater.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS) – The amount of solids floating and in suspension in wastewater.
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
TRICKLING FILTER – A biological secondary treatment process in which bacteria and other microorganisms, growing as slime on the surface of rocks or plastic media, consume nutrients in wastewater as it trickles over them.
URBAN RUNOFF – Water from city streets and domestic properties that carry pollutants into the storm drains, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
WASTEWATER – Any water that enters the sanitary sewer.
WATERSHED – A land area from which water drains to a particular water body. OCSD’s service area is in the Santa Ana River Watershed.