In our service area, maintenance and operation of the sewer system is a joint responsibility. Cities and districts collect the wastewater leaving the homes and businesses. Once this flow enters the regional sewer system, it becomes the responsibility of Monterey One Water to convey the wastewater to its facility, treat the wastewater, and safely reintroduce it into the environment. Learn more about this joint responsibility and how you can help be a Clog Buster.
The "first step" in wastewater treatment is source control. With increased awareness and everyone’s help, the amount of pollutants entering the sewer system can be reduced each year. Through careful, and sometimes regulated, monitoring of what is put in the sewer system, you can reduce the amount of toxic pollutants in the environment and also positively impact treatment costs.
Monterey One Water is here to protect public health and the environment. Every time water is used indoors within our Service Area, from washing dishes to flushing the toilet, it’s pumped through an underground series of pipes to the Monterey One Water Regional Treatment Plant. At the Regional Treatment Plant, the used water, also known as wastewater, is cleaned through a multi-step process and safely reintroduced into the environment.
You might think wastewater is only filled with pollutants and contaminants, but there are also valuable elements we can turn into new resources. At Monterey One Water, we are committed to utilizing the most innovative and cost-effective technologies out there to provide valuable resources for our community.
Monterey One Water’s sewer system consists of interceptors connecting each of the 10 Member Entities’ flows via a system of 12 M1W - owned pump stations and 34 miles of pipeline, both gravity and force main. The Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) was initially adopted by M1W’s Board of Directors on April 28, 2014 and last re certified on April 29, 2019. The SSMP is a living document and is updated as necessary.