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Launch GIS
Tuesday and Thursdays 8AM-5PM (Closed 12-1PM) 701 Ocean St. Room 401, Santa Cruz CA 95060 Call Us (831) 454-2160 Email Us
Please call (831) 454-2895 with 48-Hour advance notice to schedule an inspection with our team
Your diligence is appreciated. Notify Us at (831) 477-3907 if you smell or observe sewage in the road or waterways.
The Environmental Compliance Unit is committed to protecting our public sewer system and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. For assistance, contact the ECU at 831-477-3907.
By paying your sewer service charges, you are paying for maintenance and improvement of your public sewer system and for proper treatment of wastewater before it is released to the ocean.
Anything you put down the household drain must make its way through a series of pipes and pumps to the treatment plant and then out to the ocean outfall. Take proper care to ensure that what you put down your drain won’t result in additional maintenance costs, sanitary sewer spills, or reconstruction costs for damage to the system.
All food service facilities in the County of Santa Cruz are required to have grease removal devices to remove grease from their sewer lines before it reaches public sewer mains.
Any new food service facility or a current facility that wants to make changes in its operations or capacity must complete a Food Service Facility Questionnaire prior to beginning any new operations. The questionnaire will be used to determine the size of the grease removal device that must be installed. New grease removal devices must be made of vinyl/composite material and approved by Environmental Compliance staff prior to operation.
All commercial car wash wastewater must be collected, treated, and then discharged to the sanitary sewer. Environmental Compliance staff require a minimum 1500-gallon clarifier to treat car wash wastewater. However, a larger size may be required depending on the number of cars being washed. Clarifiers must be completely pumped out at least once a year, sometimes more frequently if there is evidence of excessive oil and solids. For instructions on maintaining a clarifier and a list of pumpers known to work in the area, please refer to Best Management Practices for Vehicle Service Facilities.
All dental facilities in the Santa Cruz County and Freedom County Sanitation Districts, which meet the specified requirements in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 403 & 441 must install an approved amalgam separator and abide by Best Management Practices. Amalgam separators prevent mercury from entering the sanitary sewer system and ultimately the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. For additional information on this requirement, please visit the EPA Dental Amalgam Rule Effluent Guidelines at: EPA Guidelines.
The first step to obtaining an Industrial Wastewater Permit is to submit a wastewater discharge permit application. Based on the information obtained from the application and a site visit, your business may be required to submit a Baseline Monitoring Report, which will require analyzing wastewater for certain contaminants. To obtain and complete an application please, please download the following:
Change of Ownership: Industrial Wastewater Permits are non-transferable. If your business has recently undergone a change of ownership or relocation, you must reapply for an Industrial Wastewater Permit by submitting a revised Wastewater Discharge Permit Application. Indicate on the application that the reason for resubmittal is a change of ownership or location.
The Pretreatment Program safeguards the sewer system and environment from industrial wastewater discharges.
The Pretreatment Program is a Federal program that was designed to protect the municipal sewer system from industrial wastewater discharges that may harm the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) and harm the environment. The County Sanitation is required to implement the program locally
The County Sanitation Environmental Compliance Unit (ECU) manages the Pretreatment Program within the County of Santa Cruz. The ECU issues wastewater discharge permits, conducts commercial and industrial inspections, and performs environmental sampling. For assistance, contact the ECU at 831-477-3907, or email dpwenv@santacruzcountyca.gov.