Protecting Water Quality

The Encina Water Pollution Control Facility (EWPCF) consistently complies with treatment requirements for effluent from the Encina Ocean Outfall, which is a 1.5-mile-long pipe with a 700-foot diffuser section at 150 feet depth below the ocean surface. The ocean and beaches are monitored and well protected from harmful impacts.

Encina Wastewater Authority also operates a regional laboratory certified by the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP), which analyzes water quality samples for wastewater treatment process control, environmental compliance, and as a service to Member Agencies and other local government partner agencies.

Requirements are established in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit (R9-2018-0059) issued by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Monitoring programs sample ocean water and assess sediment quality, invertebrate, and fish populations on a regular basis. The program results are reported approximately every five years in the State of the Ocean Report.