Visit Your Local Water Treatment Plant

MARTINEZ, CA - From Central San: Central San employs almost 300 water professionals who work as a team to make sure water local residents put down the drain is collected, cleaned, and safely returned to the environment or reused. As part of California’s second annual Water Professionals Appreciation Week, Central San would like to invite the public to visit their regional wastewater treatment plant to get a behind-the-scenes view of how water professionals at Central San protect the public health and environment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Central San offers quarterly tours of treatment facilities for individuals, with upcoming tours scheduled for October 24 and January 23. Anyone interested can sign-up online at centralsan.org/tours. Additionally, tours for groups of ten or more can be scheduled by request.

The public also plays an important role in maintaining water quality. To help our customers understand their part, Central San delivers multiple student educational programs to local elementary and high schools free of charge. Helping students understand the value of water and how their actions can impact water quality is vital to our mission.

Water Professionals Appreciation Week was established in 2017 by Senate Concurrent Resolution 80, by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa). Recent labor studies estimate that 60,000 people work in California’s water industry and it needs roughly 6,000 new employees each year due to turnover. The water industry offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in engineering, biology, finance, business administration, law, communications and many more types of positions in high-demand occupations.

The measure was sponsored by a coalition of water associations led by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and including WateReuse California, California Municipal Utilities Association, California Association of Sanitation Agencies, and the California Water Association. Under SCR 80, the annually designated week begins on the first Saturday of October and ends on the Sunday of the following weekend.

To arrange a media interview with one of Central San’s water professionals or for visuals of district facilities or operations, please contact Chris Carpenter listed above.

About Central San

Central San’s mission is to protect public health and the environment through safe and effective wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal. It also operates a household hazardous waste collection facility, provides recycled water for landscape irrigation, and promotes pollution prevention through various educational, informational and inspection programs. It serves nearly half a million residents and over 3,000 businesses over 145 square miles in the central Contra Costa County. It is operated by over 280 employees and a five-member elected Board of Directors.

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