Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District and the Cities of Fairfield and Suisun City Coordinate for Sewer System Management Success

The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District (District) provides wastewater service to the cities of Fairfield and Suisun City in Northern California. In 2006, the California State Water Resource Control Board adopted General Waste Discharge Requirements (GWDR) that require all public wastewater collection system agencies in California with greater than one mile of sewers to develop a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) and to report Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) using an electronic reporting system.The District and the cities elected to coordinate on the preparation of their SSMPs as an opportunity to foster greater cooperation and efficiency in managing day-to-day and emergency response activities of all three agencies, as well as in long-term sewer system planning. The partnership between the cities and the District has led to multiple benefits including collaborating on a closed-circuit television inspection program and resource sharing for emergency SSO response. Three years later, the combined efforts of the District and the cities has enhanced communications, allowed for better assessment of budget and resources needs, and improved overall management of all three collection systems. This paper describes the approach used and benefits achieved through this coordinated effort.