Filtering Through the Options

Watsonville, Calif. incorporates automatic filter to recycle treated wastewater.

Situated in the heart of the Monterey Bay area in the lush Pajaro Valley, the city of Watsonville lies 95 miles south of San Francisco at the southern end of Santa Cruz County.

Long before the federal government dedicated the pristine Monterey Bay as a National Marine Sanctuary, the Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Facility was serving as a first line of defense in protecting the Bay's precious water quality.

First constructed during the 1920s, the Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Facility has seen its mission grow from servicing a small agricultural community to treating wastewater for as many as 50,000 residents, treating an average daily flow of seven million gallons of wastewater originating from residential, commercial and industrial sources.

Always a friend of the environment, the Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Facility makes a conscious effort to conserve natural resources.

Accordingly, the treatment facility uses its own treated wastewater for general plant purposes such as washing and cooling rather than consuming fresh water from the city.