The Sanitation Districts' mission is to protect public health and the environment by providing wastewater (sewage) and solid waste management services. We remain committed to our mission during this crisis. Our sewer system and treatment plants are fully functional. We have also implemented precautionary measures recommended by federal, state, and local health authorities to protect our employees.

Our wastewater treatment process includes disinfection to produce safe, clean water. To disinfect, we use chlorine or ultraviolet light, which kills harmful bacteria and inactivates viruses, including the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Ongoing monitoring and lab testing at each of our 11 wastewater treatment plants indicates that our cleaned water meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements, including those for the destruction of viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.

Wipes labeled as "flushable," disinfecting wipes, paper towels and similar products should not be flushed down toilets. These products do not break down and can clog pipes in homes, sewers and sewer system pumps. These clogs lead to sewage backups and overflows. Such products should be thrown in the trash. What can be flushed? The three p's: pee, poop and (toilet) paper. For more about the impacts of "flushable" wipes, see the State's News Advisory.

Public works construction projects, like the Clearwater Project, are exempt from the County and State's "stay-at-home" orders provided work is done in compliance with precautionary measures such as social distancing. Dragados, the contractor building the new tunnel for the Clearwater Project, is observing these new requirements while continuing construction of the access shaft that will be used to lower the tunnel boring machine (TBM) below ground. Based on the current schedule, the TBM should arrive in late 2020.
Tunneling is scheduled to begin in 2021. In preparation for tunneling, three subsurface concrete "maintenance blocks" will be constructed at three locations along the tunnel alignment. These blocks will allow workers to safely inspect and repair the TBM's cutting head. Each maintenance block is constructed by injecting cement more than 60 feet below ground using a drill rig and is expected to take about three months to complete. Construction of the first maintenance block will begin this spring on an empty lot near the northeast end of Harbor Regional Park.