By Gina Terraneo, Management Analyst II, Costa Mesa Sanitary District
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Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD) believes in the importance of telling our story. Like many special districts, CMSD sees value in gaining public trust by demonstrating that special districts are not shadow governments, but rather they are highly focused and efficient entities that seek to improve their communities. In particular, CMSD seeks to highlight its leadership within the wastewater and solid waste industries, along with the partnerships that allow it to protect its community’s health and the environment.
Beginning in April of 2018, CMSD launched a biannual educational series called the Citizens Environmental Protection Academy (CEPA) in an effort to share CMSD’s story and engage its customers in an informative and interactive learning experience. By signing up for this free series, residents get a behind-the-scenes look at the facilities that recycle CMSD’s solid waste and wastewater, presentations from knowledgeable industry professionals, and workshops demonstrating best practices and agency equipment.
Even though CMSD has been in existence for 74 years, many community members are unaware of the role that CMSD plays in providing services that are essential to their quality of life and/or to the success of their business. This is because solid waste and wastewater collection services are often considered “out of sight, out of mind.” Generally, people expect their toilets to flush and their trash carts to be emptied regularly. However, most may not consider the innovative technology, equipment, procedures, and expertise of the professionals that are responsible for diverting recyclable materials away from landfills and preventing sanitary sewer overflows. CEPA allows residents to see these processes in action and hear directly from the individuals that do this type of work every day. This is perhaps the most important part of CMSD’s story – the hard-working men and women that enact the missions of CMSD and its partner agencies.
During its first iteration, CEPA featured the following program:
- Day 1 – Attendees embark on a tour of the Orange Coast College Recycling Center, the nation’s first recycling buy-back center. The recently expanded facility is financially self-sustaining and collects nearly 1,500 tons of recyclable materials from residents each year. Following the tour is a presentation from CMSD staff about special waste collection programs that are free to CMSD solid waste customers and a presentation from EEC Environmental about CMSD’s Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Program to reduce the amount of restaurant FOG entering the wastewater system. Lastly, a member of CMSD’s Wastewater Maintenance Crew provides a fascinating demonstration of a 41,000 pound heavy duty wastewater cleaning truck to exhibit the equipment and technology that is used to prevent wastewater from entering local waterways.
- Day 2 – Academy participants are taken on a tour of the transfer station and Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that is owned and operated by CR&R Environmental Services, CMSD’s exclusive franchise trash hauler. This facility sorts and processes CMSD’s recyclable materials, giving attendees a first-hand look at where their trash goes after it is collected from their homes. CR&R recycles over 27,000 tons of materials from CMSD residents annually!
- Day 3 – Ever wonder where the water goes after you flush your toilet? Academy participants find out when they visit CMSD’s LEED Platinum Wastewater Maintenance Yard to learn more about how CMSD maintains the system that collects wastewater from homes and businesses and delivers it to the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD). Attendees then tour OCSD’s wastewater treatment facility, which treats 185 million gallons of wastewater a day for over 2.1 million residents in North Orange County. After learning how wastewater is treated by OCSD, participants visit the Orange County Water District’s (OCWD) groundwater replenishment system to discover that the treated wastewater is cleaned even further through the state of the art processes of microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultra violet light with hydrogen peroxide. The newly purified water is then reintroduced back into the groundwater system where it will eventually become drinking water for Orange County residents.
A total of 35 residents participated in CEPA’s Spring 2018 series and surveys indicated an average rating of 9.57 on their overall experience (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest possible score). During the Fall 2018 series, CMSD added a presentation from Inside the Outdoors to demonstrate best practices in household recycling and an additional tour of CR&R’s cutting edge Anaerobic Digestion Facility, where organic materials (such as residential yard
waste and food waste) are recycled into renewable natural gas that fuels CR&R’s collection fleet. In the future, CMSD seeks to continue providing residents with relevant and engaging education through CEPA. CEPA’s comprehensive programming could not be brought to residents without the help of CMSD’s partners: CR&R Environmental Services, Orange Coast College Recycling Center, Orange County Water District, Orange County Sanitation District, EEC Environmental, and Inside the Outdoors. Additionally, CEPA is partially funded by Orange County Waste & Recycling’s Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction Grant.
Telling our story allows CMSD to make a direct connection with residents. Putting a name to a face, understanding a job title, witnessing the transformation of solid waste and wastewater into renewable resources – together these pieces of information seek to create an understanding of who we are, what we do, and why we do what we do. It is CMSD’s hope that these practices of accessibility and openness will continue to set a standard of transparent government among all special districts.