Cleaning Wastewater
By cleaning wastewater, the Plant protects our health, Bay, and economy. The San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (Plant) cleans our wastewater before it flows into the South San Francisco Bay.

Wastewater is the water that goes down drains inside our homes and businesses from washing dishes and clothes, showering, flushing toilets, and industrial processes.

About the Plant
Built in 1956, the Plant is a round-the-clock operation that cleans an average of 110 million gallons of wastewater per day, and has the capacity to clean up to 167 million gallons per day. The Plant serves eight cities with 1.4 million residents and a business sector with more than 17,000 main sewer connections.

Our wastewater undergoes a sophisticated 10.5-hour treatment process that simulates the way nature cleans water. The Plant removes 99 percent of the impurities before the cleaned water is discharged into the South San Francisco Bay or recycled for other uses such as industrial processes, cooling towers, and flushing toilets.

The Plant is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the western United States. Advanced (tertiary) level treatment is necessary to meet our region's strict state regulations for the shallow waters and sensitive ecosystem of the southern Bay.

The Plant is located on 2,600 acres at the South Bay shoreline, covering more area than twice the size of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The site includes a 175-acre wastewater operations area, a 750-acre sludge drying area, and an 850-acre former salt production pond. The remaining acreage is open land that buffers adjacent communities from odors and hazardous operations.