Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts

What Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts does

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) is a public agency formed in 1923, structured as 24 independent special districts operating under a joint administration. It provides wastewater collection and treatment, solid waste management, and water recycling services to 5.5 million residents across 78 cities in Los Angeles County. The agency treats approximately 400 million gallons of wastewater per day and produces roughly 100 million gallons per day of recycled water for reuse.

LACSD's core operations rest on a regional network of treatment plants, conveyance infrastructure, and solid waste facilities. The $630 million Clearwater Project — a large-diameter deep tunnel — represents the agency's most significant recent capital investment, designed to capture and convey stormwater and wastewater to reduce ocean discharge and expand system capacity. The agency also operates environmental remediation programs, including a $13.1 million Warren Facility soil and groundwater cleanup. Its technology stack is built around standard industrial process control, SCADA-based monitoring, and permit-driven treatment processes rather than proprietary technology platforms.

As a legislatively created special district, LACSD's business model is funded through user fees, property-related charges, and capacity fees collected from member cities and ratepayers, supplemented by municipal bond issuances for major capital programs. The agency employs between 1,001 and 5,000 staff and does not publicly disclose consolidated revenue. Its customer base is structurally captive — no competing provider can legally deliver the same statutory services within its franchise area — which provides revenue predictability but limits commercial growth optionality.

Name

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts

Legal name

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts

Website

https://lacsd.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts is a public agency formed in 1923 that provides wastewater treatment, solid waste management, and water recycling services to 5.5 million residents across 78 cities in Los Angeles County, treating approximately 400 million gallons daily.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wastewater and Solid Waste Management Utilities

NAICS

Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Wastewater Collection (Sewer Networks) (BPALAMAA)

Keywords

• Wastewater treatment services
• Solid waste management
• Water reclamation services
• Recycled water programs
• Industrial pretreatment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Whittier

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Wastewater Service Charges: Annual user charges collected via the Service Charge Program for residential and commercial customers to pay for operation and maintenance of the wastewater management system. Rates vary by District.
2. Industrial Wastewater Surcharge Program: Charges for industrial waste disposers based on strength and volume of discharge, ensuring industries pay fair share of treatment operations and maintenance costs
3. Connection Fees: One-time fees paid by new users to cover the cost of capacity needed to accommodate their discharge, required before connection to the sewer system
4. Solid Waste Tipping Fees: Fees charged for disposal of solid waste and recyclables at Sanitation Districts' landfills and materials recovery facilities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts provides wastewater (sewage) collection, treatment, and recycling services plus solid waste management to 5.5 million people across 78 cities in Los Angeles County. The agency operates 11 wastewater treatment plants producing 100 million gallons of recycled water daily, 1,400 miles of sewers, 2 sanitary landfills, and 2 materials recovery facilities. Supporting services include industrial waste pretreatment regulation, household hazardous waste collection, laboratory testing, and ocean environmental monitoring. The agency also generates approximately 79 megawatts of renewable energy from landfill gas and digester gas operations.

Product overview

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts operates as a network of 24 independent special districts providing integrated wastewater and solid waste management services to 5.5 million people across 78 cities in Los Angeles County. The core offering consists of wastewater collection and treatment through 11 water reclamation plants producing recycled water, combined with solid waste management via landfills and materials recovery facilities. Major projects include the Clearwater Project (7-mile wastewater tunnel) and Pure Water Southern California partnership with MWD for advanced water purification. Supporting services include household hazardous waste collection, laboratory testing, ocean monitoring, energy recovery from landfill gas and digester gas, and an industrial waste pretreatment program regulating 2,025 industrial users. The organization is the nation's largest producer of recycled water at 100 million gallons per day.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wastewater Collection and Treatment Core service providing wastewater (sewage) collection and treatment for 5.5 million people across 78 cities and unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County. The system includes approximately 1,400 miles of sewers, 48 pumping plants, and 11 wastewater treatment plants treating about 400 million gallons per day.
• Water Reclamation Plants Network of 11 water reclamation plants that treat wastewater to produce recycled water. Facilities include A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility (Carson), La Cañada WRP, Lancaster WRP, Long Beach WRP, Los Coyotes WRP, Palmdale WRP, Pomona WRP, San Jose Creek WRP, Saugus WRP, Valencia WRP, and Whittier Narrows WRP.
• Solid Waste Management Solid waste disposal services including operation of sanitary landfills (Calabasas, Scholl Canyon), materials recovery/transfer facilities (Puente Hills MRF, Downey DART, South Gate Transfer Station), and two landfill gas-to-energy facilities. Provides about one-fifth of countywide solid waste disposal needs.
• Water Reuse Program One of the largest wastewater recycling programs in the world, producing recycled water at over 880 sites for groundwater replenishment, agriculture irrigation, industrial processes, and irrigation of parks and schools. Produces 100 million gallons per day of recycled water.
• Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program Free program for LA County residents to dispose of unwanted household chemicals and electronic waste that cannot be placed in regular trash. Includes permanent collection centers and one-day collection events.
• Laboratory Services State-certified laboratory testing for process control, regulatory compliance, and industrial source control. Over 150 staff members perform analytical chemistry services, biological toxicity testing, and landfill air quality assessment using instruments including GC, GCMS, ICP, ICPMS, and LC.
• Ocean Monitoring Environmental monitoring program assessing the impact of cleaned water discharge on ocean ecosystems off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Includes coastal water quality assessment, biological studies, scuba surveys, benthic sediment analysis, and fish tissue contamination monitoring.
• Industrial Waste Pretreatment Program EPA-approved program (since 1985) regulating approximately 2,025 industrial users, including 789 Significant Industrial Users. Enforces wastewater discharge standards, conducts permitting, monitoring, and inspections to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Energy Recovery and Fueling Facilities Renewable energy production including landfill gas-to-energy facilities (Calabasas, Puente Hills), digester gas-to-energy (Warren Total Energy Facility), and CNG/LNG fueling facilities for alternative fuel vehicles. Produces approximately 79 megawatts of electricity.
• Valencia WRP Advanced Water Treatment Facility Operational facility with 8 million gallons per day treatment capacity using membrane filtration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis technologies. Produces high-quality product water with chloride concentrations below 100 mg/L.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2015Partnership to develop Pure Water Southern California program, which would purify treated water from the A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility to provide up to 150 million gallons daily for 1.5 million people. MWD would develop advanced water treatment system while Sanitation Districts construct preliminary and supplementary treatment processes. Initial agreement approved by Board in November 2015. 0.5 MGD demonstration plant (Grace F. Napolitano PWSC Innovation Center) began operation in October 2019.
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (for Warren Facility)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2015Agreement signed in 2015 for possible construction of an advanced water treatment facility at the Warren Facility site to beneficially reuse treated wastewater. 36-acre former refinery property being remediated for this purpose.
• Montebello Forebay Groundwater Recharge Project (Water Replenishment District)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for indirect potable reuse through groundwater replenishment. Recycled water from Sanitation Districts' ten water reclamation facilities is used for groundwater supply augmentation at the Montebello Forebay.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Orange County Sanitation District: Largest wastewater agency in Orange County, CA. Operates two treatment plants serving ~2.6 million people with comparable recycled water (Groundwater Replenishment System) and ocean discharge models; structurally the closest functional peer to LACSD in Southern California.
• LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN): City of Los Angeles' wastewater and solid waste utility operating the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant (~600 MGD) and multiple solids management facilities. Overlaps LACSD's service area and product mix at the City of LA level, and the two agencies coordinate on joint systems.
• Inland Empire Utilities Agency: Regional wastewater and recycled water agency serving ~875,000 people in the San Bernardino area. Operates multiple water reclamation facilities and a recycled water distribution system comparable in design to LACSD's network.
• East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD): Major municipal wastewater and water utility serving ~1.4 million people in the East Bay Area. Comparable scale of treatment plant operations, recycled water program, and special-district governance structure.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Operates wastewater, water, and power services for San Francisco, including the Southeast Treatment Plant and Hetch Hetchy-derived water system. Comparable integrated utility model and award-winning sustainability programs.
• DC Water: Combined water and wastewater utility for the District of Columbia serving ~700,000 residents and significant commercial customers. Operates advanced treatment (including the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest in the world) with a comparable regulated rate-base model.
• Philadelphia Water Department: Provides drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services to ~1.7 million people in Philadelphia. Comparable in operating combined sewer system, large-scale treatment plants, and Green City, Clean Waters stormwater program.

Regional players

• Central Basin Municipal Water District: Wholesale water agency in southeast LA County that partners with LACSD on groundwater replenishment using recycled water; comparable in mission around local water supply and reuse in the same region.

Broad incumbents

• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Regional wholesale water supplier and LACSD's Pure Water Southern California partner. Larger-scale incumbent serving a broader Southern California footprint across water supply, treatment, and distribution.
• New York City Department of Environmental Protection: Operates NYC's 14 wastewater treatment plants and drinking water supply serving ~8 million residents. Comparable scope and complexity of treatment infrastructure; broader regulatory and political environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sandistricts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/losangelescountysanitationdistricts
• Facebookfacebook.com/SanitationDistrictsLACounty
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lacsd
• Instagraminstagram.com/sandistricts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts