Wastewater Information

The City of Colton owns and operates a secondary wastewater treatment plant. The water reclamation plant accepts domestic, commercial, and industrial wastewater generated within the Cities of Colton, Grand Terrace, and some unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. The total population discharging to the CWRF is estimated at 65,867. Average daily flows at the CWRF are 5.6 Million Gallons per Day (MGD).

The secondary treated wastewater is directed to a rapid Infiltration-Extraction (RIX) Facility that is jointly owned by the Cities of Colton and San Bernardino where the wastewater undergoes additional (tertiary) treatment before being discharged to the Santa Ana River.

The discharge is permitted by the State of California under conditions listed in Order No. R8-2006-0052 (NPDES Permit No. CA8000304) (PDF).

Under extreme "wet weather" conditions the CWRF is permitted to discharge secondary treated wastewater directly to the Santa Ana River by the State of California under condition specified in Order No. R8-2005-0075 (NPDES Permit No. CA0105236) (PDF).

The Wastewater Department is also responsible for operating and maintaining over 100 miles of sewer collection system pipelines and the lift stations that pump waste water to the Water Reclamation Facility for treatment. The State of California Water Resources Control Board issued a Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems (Order No. 2006-0003) (PDF) that requires a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) that is discussed in more detail in the Sanitary Sewer Overflow Program section.