Solano County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
Solano County Wastewater Treatment Plants June 23,2023
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 2 findings
F1
– The Benicia Wastewater Treatment Plant depends on the city electrical supply, as it does not have plans to install renewable energy sources. In the event of a citywide electrical blackout, staff stated the plant can operate for up to thirty days on gas/oil fuel, the burning of which would diminish local air quality.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
– To maximize air quality of the surrounding area, continue to investigate the use of renewable energy sources to reduce fossil fuel use.
F2
– As the Dixon Wastewater Treatment Plant does not capture methane gas produced onsite, available methane cannot be used as fuel for co-generation energy production.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
– Investigate the benefits of installing methane capture equipment for digestive tanks and compost areas. COMMENTS Overall, the quality of the effluent water from the treatment plants in Solano County is quite good. The plants should be encouraged to work with Federal and State Environmental Protection Agencies to develop ways to make this water available to County residents and businesses, rather than releasing it into the ground or local waterways. Several wastewater treatment plants in Solano County use chlorination as a final step in the decontamination process. This requires maintaining adequate supplies of chemicals for chlorination and dechlorination. The staff members we spoke with assured us that their stored amounts never reached a critical level, even during times of supply chain issues. The Fairfield-Suisun plant uses Ultraviolet radiation to complete the decontamination process. Other plants’ staff indicated it is an expensive upgrade and not feasible at the time of this report, even though it would avoid potential bottleneck supply or hazardous materials incidents. The Solano County wastewater treatment plants that do not use Ultraviolet radiation decontamination equipment should be encouraged to investigate the possibilities of installing this system.
Comments 1
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CO1Overall, the quality of the effluent water from the treatment plants in Solano County is quite good. The plants should be encouraged to work with Federal and State Environmental Protection Agencies to develop ways to make this water available to County residents and businesses, rather than releasing it into the ground or local waterways. Several wastewater treatment plants in Solano County use chlorination as a final step in the decontamination process. This requires maintaining adequate supplies of chemicals for chlorination and dechlorination. The staff members we spoke with assured us that their stored amounts never reached a critical level, even during times of supply chain issues. The Fairfield-Suisun plant uses Ultraviolet radiation to complete the decontamination process. Other plants' staff indicated it is an expensive upgrade and not feasible at the time of this report, even though it would avoid potential bottleneck supply or hazardous materials incidents. The Solano County wastewater treatment plants that do not use Ultraviolet radiation decontamination equipment should be encouraged to investigate the possibilities of installing this system.