SANITATION ENGINEERING DIVISION
The City of Vista Engineering staff represent both the City of Vista Sanitation District and the Buena Sanitation District, a County Sanitation District. Each sewer collection District is a distinct legal entity and both convey sewage for treatment at the Encina Wastewater Authority (EWA).
The Vista system consists of approximately 229 miles of public pipelines and one pump station, serving approximately 16,000 parcels, and conveys an annual average flow of 6.53 million gallons per day. The Cities of Vista and Carlsbad share ownership of the outfall interceptor sewer, which routes sewage approximately 7.5 miles through two pump stations and force mains to the Encina Wastewater Authority (EWA) treatment facility. The Buena system consists of approximately 106 miles of public mains and trunk sewers, serving approximately 5,360 parcels, and conveys an annual average flow of 2.04 million gallons per day. The Buena Outfall routes sewage approximately 5.5 miles through one pump station to the EWA treatment facility.
The Buena Sanitation District also owns the Shadowridge Water Reclamation Facility (SWRF), which operated from 1980 to 2003. This facility was state of the art at its time and was necessary to provide enough treatment capacity to serve the Shadowridge development. EWA upgrades have replaced the necessary treatment capacity and the plant is currently in a non-operational mode. It may be reactivated with certain upgrades, as it becomes necessary or convenient to serve District customers.
Staff manages interagency agreements with EWA, Vallecitos Water District, and the Cities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, and San Marcos, that allow the agencies to put their collective infrastructure to the most efficient use in conveying and treating the area’s wastewater, while providing a higher level of safety against spills to the environment.
The Sanitation department provides private development review services, sewer permit processing, investigations, Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Project management, implementation of new regulations, and other associated services.
Contact Person
Carlos Mendoza, Senior Engineer, (760) 726-1340 x 1323, e-mail: cmendoza@cityofvista.com
HELPFUL INFORMATION
How to I pay for sewer service?
Please refer to information in the City of Vista FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Where can I learn about Public Sanitation Projects?
Current Sanitation CIP Schedule
Future planning (click below links to download compressed*.zip file containing Adobe pdf format documents)
2008 SEWER MASTER PLAN UPDATE (10.3) MB) - completed January 2008
PROGRAM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (15.3 MB) - document distributed through state clearinghouse on March 6, 2008
After wastewater is collected, where does it go?
Encina Wastewater Authority (EWA)
What are Regional Standards?
San Diego Regional Standards Commitee
San Diego Regional Standards Drawings Online (SDRSD)
San Diego Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction "Greenbook"
Vista Standards
Vista Standards
Where is/are the sewer line(s) nearest to my project?
Where are the boundaries of Buena, Vista, or any other local Wastewater Districts?
San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission
What regulations apply to Wastewater?
Federal, State, and Local regulations govern sewer collection and disposal. Below are links to helpful information. Other regulations may apply to your project. Sanitation staff are ready to help you understand how they apply to you.
Vista Municipal Code Chapters 13 and 14
EWA Waste Discharge Requirements
Region 9 Water Quality Control Board (R9WQCB)
Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR)
Fats Oil and Grease (FOG) control
Requirements for private development submittals can be found on the Land Development Department page on this website.